By Rowena F. Caronan
From ecoseed.org
The Norwegian government is continuing its support of renewables and clean energy through funding, such as the 2 billion Norwegian kroner ($330 million) amount intended for Enova next year.
Norwegian minister of petroleum and energy Terje Riis-Johansen said by 2011, the government will grant 2 billion kroner to Enova S.F., a public clean energy enterprise.
But this year, Mr. Riis-Johansen said the country is allocating 3.3 billion kroner for carbon capture and storage projects. This will include the projects at Mongstad, a transport and storage project and financial support towards carbon capture research and development.
“Our approach is first, to strengthen our energy efficiency programs. Second, to strengthen our efforts in renewable energy. And third, to mature key future energy technologies such as carbon capture and storage and offshore wind turbines,” Mr. Riis-Johansen said.
Enova, which is owned by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, is the country’s chief agency for the green restructuring of Norway’s energy consumption and generation. It aims to contribute energy generation and conservation equivalent to 18 terawatt-hours by 2011.
“The Government also promotes energy efficiency through other measures like stricter building codes, eco labels and standards, targeted duties and taxes etc,” he said.
The minister laid out the government’s plan during the launch of the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook in Oslo.
He said Norway’s plan supports the policy goals set out by the agency in securing energy supply and speeding up transition to low-carbon emission systems.
The agency’s report shows that, with the pledges under the Copenhagen Accord and pledges made in the G-20 to remove subsidies on fossil fuels, the planet is on the path to a 3.5°C increase, according to Mr. Riis-Johansen.
Both the I.E.A and World Energy Outlook stressed the importance for developed countries to commit ambitious emission targets, to remove inefficient subsidies of fossil fuels and to increase deployment of new energy technologies and solutions.
“Norway will keep pushing for an ambitious, global and legally binding agreement,” he said, recognizing the difficulty among countries on reaching a global and binding climate agreement that will confine warming to the “safe” level of 2°C.
