0 CommentsThis past Tuesday, the World Leaders Forum hosted Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in a conversation about energy transition titled “Norway and the Age of Energy.”
On Tuesday, September 24, the Institute of Global Politics and the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of the Kingdom of Norway as part of the World Leaders Forum. This event, titled Norway and the Age of Energy, was the fourth World Leaders forum event for this year. Over the course of an hour, Prime Minister Støre addressed Norway’s complicated position as a leader in green energy transition and a major supplier of oil and natural gas within the context of broader international conflicts.
After an introductory speech from Interim President Katrina Armstrong, Støre opened his presentation by acknowledging Norway and Spain’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state. Amidst the political turmoil within the Middle East and the world at large, he felt it was important to address this point. He explained that he also planned to contextualize recent environmental politics and convey how the conflict in Ukraine forced the nation to rethink their strategy around oil and gas.
“We live in the energy age,” said the prime minister. Despite being one of the world’s largest exporters of oil and natural gas, Støre emphasized the world’s transition out of these resources into a new chapter. “When energy sources shift, power and politics shift as well.”
To fully outline Norway’s role in energy policy, it is crucial to understand their geography. Including the sea that surrounds the country’s 360,000 square kilometers of land, Norway is the 17th largest nation in the world. Water from around the sea and in the fjords (narrow inlets of water created by glaciers) is Norway’s primary source of energy and “currently accounts for 80% of [their] electricity.” However, in 1969, large amounts of oil were discovered in the Norwegian shelf (a portion of Norway submerged under an area of shallow water), and the nation had to implement a strategy to tame these resources.
Currently the third largest exporter of oil and gas, Norway’s provision of fossil fuels is essential for the European economy. Amidst the war in Ukraine, providing these resources became increasingly complex and necessary as Russia was originally a major supplier of energy. According to Støre, fossil fuels are a major source of income for Norway, contributing to the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund which is worth about 1.6 trillion dollars today. He describes these assets as a pension fund that “will last forever” as the government is only permitted to use 3% of the interest to support their activities.
Despite the nation’s level of contribution to the fossil fuel industry, the prime minister outlined a definitive plan for cutting emissions and leading the energy transition. Norway is the world’s 79th largest polluter, and the country commits to cutting its 50 million tons of emissions by 55% by the year 2030. Although this may not make a large dent in global emissions from a quantitative perspective, Norway’s methods of decreasing emissions may be internationally significant.
Norway has been a leader in pioneering carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. CCS involves taking carbon dioxide gas out of the atmosphere and depositing the solid carbon into a seabed 2,000 meters below the surface. “There is enough space in the continental shelf to store Europe’s emissions for decades,” said Støre, referencing the potential for Norway to proactively reduce emissions for the fossil fuels that they export to the rest of Europe. “The world will never transition properly without carbon capture.”
In addition to reducing emissions through CCS, Støre is focusing on supporting the development of renewable energy. Because of Norway’s extensive seabed and wind, the potential for on and offshore wind coupled with solar, hydrogen, and hydroelectric power is promising. Exchanging gas with hydrogen will cut millions of tons of carbon dioxide, according to the prime minister, and Norway plans to have a law prohibiting the sale of fossil fuel cars by the year 2025.
Ending his speech by looking externally, Støre reinforced his commitment to providing equitable access to electricity in less developed nations. Currently, 700 million people are without electricity. Støre believes that wealthier countries should be the ones focusing on contributing financially to the climate change effort. According to the prime minister, Norway, along with the World Bank, is committing to providing electricity to 300 million people, saying that “everything that can be electrified will be electrified.”
After a round of applause for his initial speech, Prime Minister Støre transitioned to the question and answer portion with Jason Bordoff, Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs. Professor Bordoff turned first to the conflict in Ukraine and Norway’s role in the energy crisis, asking if the crisis has slowed down or accelerated the energy transition. Støre claimed that while there used to be a clear dependence on Russian gas, many members of the European Union had to transition away from using their resources as a protest of the nation’s human rights violations.
It would be misleading to mention strides within the energy crisis and not point out the glaring electricity shortage in Ukraine, Støre argued. While this crisis is particularly acute and devastating within Ukraine, Støre believes that the worst of the shortage is over for most of Europe. As for the acceleration or deceleration of the energy transition as a result, Støre believes that new job creation to improve technology around renewables as well as establishing renewables as stable sources of power will ultimately decentralize the reliance on fossil fuels. He believes that Norway should use its fund’s interest to support these new technologies and carbon capture pipelines.
Finally, Professor Bordoff asked the question in the minds of many eager audience members: how does Norway rely on oil and gas proceeds while simultaneously touting itself as a leader in the green energy sphere? The prime minister’s response was twofold. He began by claiming that change should, in his opinion, occur from the demand side rather than the supply side. Once nations stop demanding fossil fuels as the world transitions towards renewables, Norway will stop supplying these resources. Additionally, he expressed that gas was not technically the problem but rather the emissions. If CCS technology was made sufficiently available, countries could potentially prolong their usage of fossil fuels.
After the conversation with Bordoff, the event turned to the audience question and answer portion. A student from Ecuador asked an insightful question regarding protocol for nations with less developed energy systems. How is a country like Ecuador which is experiencing more than eight hours of power outages a day going to transition to renewables? Prime Minister Støre responded that to harness the potential of wind and solar power for a coastal country, international cooperation is necessary to make expertise and financing available to countries such as Ecuador. Additionally, Norway will attempt to get offshore wind prices down through development.
The event closed by centering the discussion on the potential for young people and students to get involved in the energy transition. Prime Minister Støre lauded the necessity of job security. If people are trained to adapt to new technology, they will champion progress. The challenge for governments going forward is to demonstrate the future of environmentalism in economics, energy, and various other fields to cut emissions and create equitable access to jobs and education.
Image via Flickr
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