In a statement issued on Thursday 22 September, nearly 30 NGOs called on the EU and Norway to exclude the oil and gas industry and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies from the list of sectors at the heart of their cooperation on climate, energy and industrial transformation.
The call is based on reports in several Norwegian newspapers that the two sides intend to conclude a ‘green industry agreement’ at the 27th UN climate conference (COP27) in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, in November.
While the EU and Norway announced their joint desire to strengthen their cooperation on climate and energy in February, a draft document from the Norwegian government sent to the EU indicates that Oslo wants to give priority to Norwegian oil and gas in the future agreement, according to information from the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.
This is a prospect that the NGOs are denouncing. “It is not right for Norway to take advantage of the EU’s vulnerable situation to legitimise continued exploration for petroleum. If Norway’s proposal is accepted by the EU, it will be a scandal that undermines the Paris Agreement itself and sends a clear signal to other countries that they too can continue with oil production”, said Truls Gulowsen, head of the NGO Friends of the Earth Norway.
See the NGO’s statement: https://aeur.eu/f/388 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)