Climate change mitigation - Drivers and pressures (Norway)

Norwegian society has undergone substantial change in the last hundred years. Income from the oil and gas industry has resulted in a considerable increase in living standard in the last twenty to thirty years, and is the main reason for Norway’s favourable economic position. Norway has become a welfare state, and income and consumption levels have changed radically. At the same time, oil and gas production has been the main cause of the increase in Norway’s carbon dioxide emissions since 1990.

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For the second year running, Norway’s total greenhouse gas emissions have decreased. In 2009, 50.8 million tonnes CO2-equivalents were emitted, which is at its lowest since 1995. A great deal of the reduction is due to lower emissions from the manufacturing industries and oil and gas activities, but emissions from road traffic and agriculture also decreased. The development of the emissions are assumed to be influenced by the financial crisis.

Energy intensity and use

Norway has rich energy resources, particularly in the form of oil, gas and hydropower, and energy extraction is far higher than the country’s energy use. In addition, coal is extracted in Svalbard and Norway has very high wind power and bio energy potential.

Except for brief periods around 1980 and 1990, GDP has grown more strongly than domestic energy use throughout the period 1976–2006. Thus, energy intensity has decreased. International statistics show a similar trend in other OECD countries. This is explained both by more efficient energy use and by changes in industrial structure, for example a shift towards the production of services rather than more energy-intensive raw material production. Structural changes are an important factor behind the observed reduction in energy intensity in Norway, together with changes in prices and market conditions and greater productivity. From 1976 to 2006, energy use increased by about 68 per cent. For the period as a whole, non-renewable energy use has risen slightly more (69 per cent) than renewable energy use (66 per cent).

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