NGO demands stop to all Norwegian hydrocarbon exploration: press
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has demanded Norway put an immediate stop to all new oil and gas exploration licences, Norway Today reported April 4.
WWF's intervention proposes a radical, expedited solution to the energy transition, but neglects to factor in the impact on European livelihoods at a time when heating bills and fuel costs have hit multi-year highs.
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The race to limit the effects of global warming has gripped IOCs and governments. An interim climate change report from the UN in February 2021 warned nations were "nowhere close" to achieving the 1.5 celsius global warming cap, a must to avert catastrophic floods, heatwaves, droughts and storms.
The Norwegian Continental Shelf traditionally produces less carbon than most prolific upstream oil and gas producers. Norway's national statistics body has said CO2 emissions in 2012 averaged less than half of the typical 130 kg/toe footprint for global oil and gas production.
Norway is nevertheless a top global CO2 exporter, with 27% of its overall greenhouse gas emissions coming from its upstream sector in 2013. The national petroleum directorate says that in 2020 oil and gas turbines produced the largest share of emissions, at 10.3mn tons. A further 910,000 tons stemmed from oilfield engines and 690,000 tons from routine oil flaring exercises.
The flaring figure is significantly reduced due to Oslo's carbon tax, which charges oil producers for the combustion of redundant gas from production rigs. The flaring levy has been around for decades - having launched in 1990 - and last year the tax rate amounted to NOK 1.27 ($0.15)/m3 of gas.
"“Norway must immediately stop all new exploration for oil and gas, formulate a plan to reduce production from existing fields, and ensure that all choices made are in the best interests of the climate,” said WWF secretary-general Karoline Andaur. "As the world's seventh-largest exporter of CO2 emissions, we stand at a historic crossroads. Now is the time to take our rightful responsibility and contribute to emissions cuts."