Carbon emissions in Norway declined 3.4 percent last year, according to new updated numbers from state statistics bureau SSB. Emissions totalling 50.3 million tons were the lowest in 27 years and now officials think Norway may meet its climate goals for 2020. “These are encouraging numbers and show that the government climate policies are working,” […]
Greenpeace hails Oil Fund exclusions
May 13, 2020
Environmental organization Greenpeace is hailing Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which was built up on oil revenues, for excluding four oil companies because their emissions are too high. All four extract oil from controversial tar/oil sands projects. Norway’s own state oil company Statoil (now Equinor) was also active in oil sands projects in Alberta, Canada until […]
Oslo Fjord ailing as birds die, fish gone
May 4, 2020
Something is seriously wrong with the Oslo Fjord and no one seems to fully understand why. Both fish and mussels have been disappearing, while the fjord’s characteristic seabirds known as ærfugl (common eider) have been found dead from Agder in the south to Østfold farther north. Newspaper Dagsavisen has reported that the dead birds are […]
Plastic pellet spill tied to container ship
April 30, 2020
Weeks after millions of small white plastic pellets started washing up on the shoreline of the Oslo Fjord, the source of the spill has likely been identified: a container on board a ship that sprung a leak. “We view it as highly probable that a damaged container spilled the pellets during a voyage,” Ole Sævild […]
Svalbard tourism chills scientists
March 5, 2020
Growing numbers of tourists are leaving a worrisome footprint on Svalbard’s fragile environment, according to the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). In a new study, NINA proposes tougher regulation of tourism in the Arctic archipelago and of the cruise industry in particular. “The increasing tourism has clear negative effects,” NINA scientist Hogne Øian told […]
Equinor gives up drilling down under
February 25, 2020
After years of massive protests that also hurt Norway’s national reputation, state oil company Equinor is dropping plans to drill for oil and gas off the southern Australian coast. Environmentalists, climate activists and local surfers were jubilant, even though Equinor cited purely commercial reasons for its decision. “Following a holistic review of its exploration portfolio,” […]
Labour keen to shoot more wolves
February 20, 2020
Norway’s Labour Party is drawing fire over a controversial new proposal to make it easier to shoot more wolves in Norway. As the wolf population grows, to the relief of conservationists, Labour is scaring former environmental allies with what it claims is merely an attempt to reduce high conflict levels. There are now somewhere between […]
‘Sell off Equinor’s foreign operations’
February 11, 2020
Investment funds and analysts aren’t the only ones questioning the long-term value of Norway’s state oil company Equinor. Now a member of the Norwegian Parliament is renewing calls to spin off and sell Equinor’s international operations, claiming they present both political and financial risk and often don’t adhere to Norway’s climate goals. “I see few […]
Svalbard worth more than ever
February 7, 2020
Nearly a million Norwegians have been sitting through hours of more “slow TV” this week on a daily basis, apparently mesmerized by the beauty and history of Svalbard. Sunday marks 100 years since a post-World War I treaty gave Norway sovereignty over the wild and scenic archipelago, where new underwater discoveries may make the area […]
New ‘climate cure’ after warm January
February 3, 2020
It’s official: January ended as the next-warmest ever in Norway, with nine counties setting new records for high temperatures in the middle of what’s supposed to be winter. State officials hope a new “climate cure” will help, if everyone takes the proposed medicine. Norway’s state Meteorologic Institute reports that southeastern Norway experienced the warmest January […]
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