Norwegian climate policy is based on the goal of limiting the average rise in global temperature to no more than 2°C above the pre-industrial level.
During the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol (2008–2012), the Government will:
• strengthen Norway’s Kyoto commitment by 10 percentage points, corresponding to nine per cent below the 1990 level.
• ensure that a substantial proportion of Norway’s emissions reductions are achieved through domestic action.
Furthermore, the Government is designing Norway’s climate policy to achieve the following long term targets:
• reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 30 % of our 1990 emissions by 2020.
• carbon neutrality by 2050. In case of an ambitious global international climate agreement we will aim to achieve this by 2030.
The Government considers that a realistic target is to reduce emissions in Norway by 15–17 million tonnes CO2 equivalents, when CO2 uptake by forests is included. This means that about to two thirds of the cuts in total emissions by 2020 would be made in Norway.
Presently, about 70 % of Norwegian emissions are either covered by the emissions trading scheme or subject to a CO2 tax. Norway has also included the emissions of N2O from the production of nitric acid in to the emissions trading system. Certain sources of emissions cannot be incorporated into the emissions trading scheme or made subject to a CO2 tax. In such cases, the Government will use other policies and measures.
Examples of such other policies and measures are Government support for new renewable energy developments and energy efficiency projects, new stricter building regulations and promotion of public transportation. Action plans have also been drawn up for the following sectors: petroleum and energy, transport, the manufacturing industries, primary industries, waste management, and the public sector.
Norway also has strong efforts on developing and deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a global climate mitigation measure. We have already gained valuable experience from CO2 storage at the Sleipner field in the North Sea and at the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea. The Government also cooperates with the industry on realizing CCS at the gas fired power plants at Mongstad and Kårstø, and contributes financially to these projects.