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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2022
Contacts:
Silje Ask Lundberg, [email protected] (CET)
Romain Ioualalen, [email protected] (CET)
New briefing exposes Norway as Europe’s most aggressive oil and gasoline explorer
Fast ramp-up of licensing makes Norway a ‘poster youngster for local weather hypocrisy,’ teams say
OSLO, NORWAY — A brand new briefing launched in the present day reveals that, regardless of claiming to be one of many world’s local weather leaders, Norway has exponentially ramped up its exploration licensing over the previous 10 years, making it Europe’s most aggressive explorer for brand spanking new oil and gasoline. Permitting additional improvement of already licensed Norwegian oil and gasoline reserves may unleash local weather air pollution 60 instances higher than Norway’s annual home emissions.
“Staying under 1.5 levels requires a fast wind down of oil and gasoline manufacturing and it’s rich producers like Norway which have the means and the accountability to maneuver first and quickest,” stated Oil Change Worldwide senior campaigner Silje Ask Lundberg. “As a substitute, Norway has within the final 10 years awarded as many exploration licences as within the 47 years prior. This fast ramp up of oil and gasoline licensing is incompatible with local weather management.”
The briefing, revealed by Oil Change Worldwide, identifies two key steps the present Norwegian authorities can absorb 2022 to sign that it’s severe about its dedication to the Paris Settlement objectives, and to start to align its oil and gasoline insurance policies with the vital 1.5°C restrict: halt the exponential licensing system, known as the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA), and reject Equinor Vitality AS’s upcoming bid to develop a serious new oilfield within the Arctic.
The important thing findings of the briefing are:
- Over the past 10 years, the Norwegian authorities awarded as many exploration licences – 700 – as within the 47 years prior. From 2012 to 2021, new licences issued by Norway opened up 2.8 billion barrels of latest oil and gasoline assets for potential extraction, virtually 3.5 instances greater than Europe’s second-largest producer, the UK.
- Allowing improvement of oil and gasoline fields which might be already licensed, however not but producing, may result in a further 3 Gt of CO2 emissions globally. That is 60 instances Norway’s annual home emissions. New licensing may enhance these emissions by 80 %.
- If authorized, Equinor’s proposed Wisting area within the Arctic area of the Barents Sea, may result in emissions of greater than 200 million tons of CO2, equal to the annual emissions of fifty coal-fired energy vegetation. The local weather influence of the Wisting area could possibly be thrice higher than that of the Cambo area, the controversial U.Ok. challenge paused in late 2021 within the face of large grassroots opposition.
A rising physique of proof, most just lately from the Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA), exhibits that permitting improvement of latest oil and gasoline fields – not to mention approving exploration for brand spanking new oil and gasoline reserves – is incompatible with limiting international warming to 1.5°C.
“Norway was one of many first nations on this planet to ratify the Paris settlement, however on the similar time they’ve continued an exponential progress in oil and gasoline licensing,” Lundberg continued. “The primary steps the federal government ought to undertake in 2022 to start to align its oil and gasoline insurance policies with the vital 1.5°C restrict are to halt the exponential licensing system and to reject Equinor’s bid to develop the Wisting oil area.”
Click on right here to learn the complete briefing: https://priceofoil.org/norway-briefing-2022
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Norwegian local weather and environmental leaders responded to the briefing’s findings:
Frode Pleym of Greenpeace Norway stated:
“This briefing reveals how Norway is a poster youngster for local weather hypocrisy. Each new exploration nicely and each new oil area that Norway permits undermines a well-planned simply transition and is a step nearer to local weather chaos. Investments have to be redirected to scale up new, inexperienced industries throughout the nation and guaranteeing a simply transition so that each employee can retrain and transfer into inexperienced job.”
Truls Gulowsen of Mates of the Earth Norway stated:
“The science couldn’t be clearer: there isn’t room for any fossil gas developments if we wish a habitable local weather. And but the Norwegian authorities simply issued over 50 new exploration licences within the weak Arctic environments of the Barents Sea and is constructive in direction of the Wisting oil and gasoline area, some 300 kilometres north of Norway’s northernmost coast. This new briefing exhibits unequivocally that Prime Minister Gahr Støre must halt enlargement into the excessive Arctic instantly and begin a simply transition away from fossil fuels that creates safe, inexperienced jobs over your entire nation.”
Karoline Andaur, CEO at WWF-Norway stated:
“This briefing states how Norway is on the mistaken observe. New oil exploration locks capital and experience right into a sundown business, an incredible impediment for a inexperienced and simply transition. Continued funding has a draw back whatever the final result: If the world’s local weather coverage succeeds, Norway dangers abrupt market fall, which entails giant monetary losses for the state and welfare threat. And if local weather coverage doesn’t succeed, the elevated emissions will do irreparable injury to the planet, which may have financial penalties that far exceed a short lived revenue from oil and gasoline.”
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Notes:
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