Because of a "crisis of conscience"

Norway, the largest oil giant in Europe, is preparing to switch to green energy

Vice President of the Green Party celebrates the victory of his party two years ago.

From the source

Norway heads to the polls on Monday in a parliamentary election that is set to force Western Europe's largest oil and gas producer to grapple with its environmental contradictions.

Climate issues have dominated the election campaign since August, when the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its strongest warning yet that global warming is dangerously close to spiraling out of control.

The report gave an immediate boost to parties calling for restrictions on oil exploration, and the country's Green Party - which wants an immediate moratorium on oil and gas exploration and no production increase at all after 2035 - has seen membership increase by about a third.

"The IEA's zero-output report in May really made it clear that there is no room for oil and gas, so the IPCC report really sounded the alarm," said Greens deputy chair Ariel Hermstad. with the climate.”

But while opinion polls predict that the center-left opposition will oust the Conservative-led coalition that has ruled Norway for eight years, the fate of the industry that made Norway one of Europe's most prosperous countries remains far from unchecked.

The country may be a leading proponent of green energy, but fossil fuels still account for 40% of its exports.

The oil and gas industry employs more than 200,000 people - about 7% of the total workforce - and through it the country has built the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, worth £1 trillion.

Pressure is mounting on Norway to change this economic pattern by emulating neighboring Denmark, which is expected to end fossil-fuel exploration and halt all production by 2050.

Last year's UN Human Rights Council report on Norway was blunt, calling on the country to "ban further fossil fuel exploration, reject further expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, and develop a just transition strategy for workers and communities".

But such a message is difficult to market.

"It will be very difficult to get Norway out of the oil industry," says Hermstad.

People worry about their work and standard of living.

While conservatives are ensuring oil jobs continue, those calling for an end to drilling appear to be a threat.

Norway's main center-right and center-left parties (the Conservatives and the opposition Labor Party) agree that production should continue beyond 2050, arguing that the green transition will take time, and oil revenues can help fund it.

They argue that the halt will destroy the Norwegian economy, and if Norway stops producing, other countries will fill the gap.

“They are actually arguing that since Norway produces oil in a clean way, it will be better for the environment, and that the country can continue to do so," Hermstad says. "It's not true, but voters like to hear it."

However, the Greens may find themselves in government, and the right-wing coalition headed by Erna Solberg is expected to lose, but the expected margin of victory for the left is uncertain. A Labor-led coalition may need the support of one or more of the smaller parties to reach a majority of 85 seats.

Labor, led by former foreign minister Jonas Gahr Store, is expected to be the largest party with the expected 46 MPs, but it is also set to lose some seats, leaving its preferred coalition, with the Center Party and the SPD with a slim majority.

That could result in the Greens taking eight seats, or the leftist Red Party entering government, which could give environmentalists decisive leverage in a left-leaning coalition deeply divided over fossil fuel policy.

The Labor Party said it would not form a coalition with any party demanding a halt to all exploration or production.

But his main allies disagree on this issue, with the Center Party supporting continued exploration and the Socialist Left opposed.

Al-Khidr hopes that all kinds of deals will be mediated.

It depends a lot on whether small parties pass Norway's so-called voting level threshold, which rewards parties who win more than 4% of the vote nationally, but not directly many seats.

But it will be difficult for Norway to give up its addiction to oil and gas.

“In a discussion last week, I asked the Tory candidate when it would be their preferred date to end production, and he said ‘in about 300 years,’” Hermstad says.

• The country may be a major proponent of green energy, but fossil fuels still account for 40% of its exports.

The oil and gas industry employs more than 200,000 people - about 7% of the total workforce - and through it the country has built the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, worth £1 trillion.

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