The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, signed a “Green Alliance” on Monday 24 April in Brussels, which aims to strengthen cooperation between the two parties in the field of ecological transition. The aim is to consolidate the joint actions of the EU and Norway in the areas of climate, clean energy, industrial transition and environmental protection.
“It will allow us to move along on the road to climate neutrality, side by side, to join forces”, said Mrs von der Leyen in her speech. The President of the European Commission also said: “We will expand our joint work on carbon capture and storage. And we have work ongoing on clean hydrogen and electrolysers, we are doing this under the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance”.
Thus, through this “Green Alliance”, both parties renew their respective commitments to the 2030 targets of at least a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 and to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. They ensure that the global temperature increase is kept within the 1.5°C limit under the Paris Agreement while ensuring energy security, environmental protection and human rights.
Furthermore, as the alliance was concluded ahead of the second North Sea Summit in Ostend, Ursula von der Leyen thanked Jonas Gahr Støre for Norway’s role in offshore energy production. “The wind harnessed by the North Sea turbines will help power Europe’s clean technology industry. It will provide secure and affordable energy to Europeans”, she stressed.
In addition, she announced that a strategic partnership focusing on critical raw materials and the battery value chain was underway and should be finalised soon.
This Green Alliance is the first with a European country. This is, according to the European Commission, the most comprehensive form of bilateral engagement established under the Green Deal. This is only the second such agreement, following the EU-Japan Green Alliance signed in 2021 (see EUROPE 12728/13). (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)