Norway well placed to lead the world in clean energy, says IEA review

Leveraging clean electricity and energy innovation can enable Norway to accelerate emissions reductions in fuel production, transport and industry, according to a new International Energy Agency (IEA) policy review released on Wednesday.

Norway is uniquely well placed for the clean energy transition and now needs to advance strategies to tackle emissions in sectors where they are hardest to reduce in order to meet its ambitious climate targets, the IEA policy review recommended.

“I commend Norway’s efforts to boost its near-term oil and gas production in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, helping to stabilise global supplies, especially to its European neighbours,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, who launched the report on Wednesday with Terje Aasland, Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

“At the same time, Norway is leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas production, especially through the electrification of offshore platforms,” he said.

Since the IEA’s last policy review in 2017, Norway has remained a global pillar of energy security with its ample reserves of oil and gas produced in an environmentally responsible manner, the review said. Norway is also a significant and reliable international supplier, exporting close to 90% of its energy production.

The IEA report notes that Norway’s existing energy sector expertise can help it achieve a successful energy and climate transition. The Scandinavian country is well placed to decarbonise a wide range of sectors through technologies such as electric vehicles, hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and is already a leader in carbon capture, the report said.

With its impressive Longship project, Norway boasts two full-scale capture facilities and one storage facility in the North Sea that will further help to advance this technology for the world.

The IEA report recommended that Norway leverage its renewables-based electricity system and develop detailed, long-term sector-by-sector roadmaps backed by specific policy measures.

“I believe Norway has an important opportunity to show the world how to undertake complex emissions reductions, an issue all countries will need to face,” Dr Birol said in a statement. “I hope this report will help Norway navigate its own path toward a low-emissions society and help lead the world on advancing low-carbon technologies.”