World
Institutional
links
Welcome back on
26 -29 August,
ONS 2008
ONS 2008:
Press sees Norway
from toe to tip
Petroleumworld
Business
Partners:
Centre for
Global Energy
Studies
Blogspots
The Energy Guide
to Venezuela
By Venezuelan British
Chamber of Commer
  |
ONS: Norwegian prime minister calls for
increasing energy supply, reducing emissions
Norway's Prime Minister Jens StoltenbergSTAVANGER, Norway
Petroleumworld.com, Aug 28, 2008
Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg opened ONS on Tuesday, Aug. 26 with his strategy on increasing global energy supplies while decreasing global emissions of greenhouses gasses.
The world has come to realize two central facts about energy, Stoltenberg says. "On the one hand, energy supply is necessary for economic growth and poverty reduction; and on the other hand, the use of fossil fuel has a negative impact on the climate."While the impacts of high energy prices is cause for great international concern, we should also bear in mind that the increase in energy prices reflects some good news for the world, Stoltenberg says. "It is a reflection of the strong global economic growth of the last two decades, and it has brought hundreds of millions of people out of poverty."
For this development to continue, the world needs to increase the supply of energy further, he says.
Meanwhile, we need to reduce global CO2 emissions by at least 50%, and fossil energy is the main source of these emissions, according to Stoltenberg. To resolve this dilemma, the prime minister suggests putting a global price on carbon. "In the years to come, emitting greenhouse gases will be costly, and I have no doubt that a clear signal on price will have a great impact."
Stoltenberg points to consumer purchasing behavior, switching to public transportation, and the CO2 tax on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), as ways in which prices can contribute to reduced emissions. Currently, emissions of CO2 per unit of petroleum produced on the NCS are less than half of the international averages, he says.
"Carbon pricing alone, however, will not solve our climate change problems; additional action is needed." The prime minister points to three ways that Norway can contribute: first, the substitution of coal by gas; second, exporting energy efficiency; and finally, developing carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Norway has ample gas to fuel this strategy – it is the third largest gas exporter in the world, and 60% of the country's remaining reserves are expected to be gas.
As for CCS, the prime minister believes that if developed and deployed worldwide, CCS may make a key contribution to combating climate change. Within a few years, it is expected that a full-scale CCS facility will be up and running at the Mongstad power plant. "However, worldwide deployment of CCS can only be achieved through international cooperation," Stoltenberg says.
"At the political level we need to create a financial framework that makes it commercially attractive to develop and invest in CCS."
Story from Offshore
Offshore 26 08 08Copyright© 2008 respective author or news agency. All rights reserved.
We welcome the use of Petroleumworld™ stories by anyone provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other stories you have to get authorization by its authors.
Your feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best Viewed with IE 5.01+
Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels