In a two-day visit to Baku within the framework of "Nordic Talks" project, Per Strand Sjaastad, Special Advisor for Green Transition at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, gave an exclusive interview to Kitabistan. The "Nordic Talks" project is launched with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers, in collaboration with Kitabistan and the embassies of four Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in Azerbaijan. We present the interview to you.

- Mr Per Strand Sjaastad, welcome to Azerbaijan. I am really pleased to have an opportunity to conduct an interview with you as part of the Nordic Talks project. I would like to begin the interview with Norway's Climate Action Plan for 2021-2030. Could you provide an overview of Norway's climate action plan and its key objectives?

- Well, thank you very much for inviting me to this interview. I could say that Norway has fairly high ambitions in the climate field. We have the objective of reducing emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. Basically, we have 3 components, 3 dimensions, key instruments. One is carbon pricing. We will apply that in all sectors and we will increase the carbon price to around 200 US dollars by 2030. Important tool. The second is our participation in the emission trading scheme in the EU which is important to give businesses incentive to cut climate emissions. And the third is to have stricter green conditions in public procurement when public authorities buy commodities and services.

- Being one of the biggest suppliers of oil and natural gas worldwide, Norway is actively engaged in transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, as agreed upon at COP 28. What approaches and efforts is Norway undertaking to contribute to this objective and to advance the deployment of renewable energy and low-carbon solutions?

- The situation today is very difficult for the world. As we speak, 82 per cent of the energy use in the world is fossil fuels. Only 18 per cent renewable and nuclear power. And we need to reduce the fossil fuels in energy mix. Basically, Norway does two things to try to contribute. Firstly, we work to develop substitution. Other types of energy that will substitute fossil fuels like renewables - wind, solar, hydropower. And the second is that we in addition to renewables, we need to provide for low carbon solutions. Which means we take away the CO2 in natural gas, thereby reducing emissions significantly through carbon capture storage and also through the production of so called blue hydrogen.

- In light of the challenges and uncertainties facing the energy sector, how does Norway envision the role of renewables in its energy mix in the coming decades?

- Our starting point is that 100 per cent of the power sector in Norway is renewable. So, we have a very good starting point in my country. But if you look at the energy in total in Norway, still 50 percent is fossil fuels. So, basically, there are 3 sectors which are very important to make changes. One is the transport sector. There we go all in. All in electric vehicles. We have been pioneering that for many years. 90 percent of new vehicles in Norway are electric. We are also pioneering electric solutions in the shipment sector. Especially for  ferries. We have one hundred ferries which are run on electric fuels. And thirdly we are also developing green aviation. So transport, is first.

Second is heating. And there we are in a very favorable situation. But we need to make some serious effort in energy efficiency. And third is industry. We need to make more electrification of industry. Especially the energy intensive industries. So, Norway still has some way to go. But we have a good starting point. Now, 50 per cent in total are fossil fuels. We hope to reduce that number in the coming years. 

- Norway is known for its collaboration with other countries to exchange best practices in the field of green transition. What major international renewable energy projects is Norway involved in, and what are the key lessons learned from these collaborations?

- The world needs frontrunners in order to make progress in the climate work. Norway is a medium-sized country but we can make some contributions. We cooperate especially with our neighbours in the Nordic Region in Europe. Especially maybe also in the North Sea region. In addition to that, we have an active engagement in international processes, like the COP processes on climate and nature. And finally we also have integrated the climate and energy transition aspects in our development policies in foreign aid. So, I think the most important contribution we can make from Norway is that, in areas where we have competence, we have high priorities and good experience, like for carbon capture storage, offshore wind and hydropower, we can share our experience and our skills with other countries. And through that try to make that climate action in the world go forward. So, we are trying to make sound contributions. But it is a good thing to underline in this context that cooperation is the main vehicle to succeed because the climate situation is a world problem and we all need to make efforts in order to fix it. 

- Thank you very much for your insightful responses.

- Thank you very much as well.

Malak Hajiyeva

08.10.2024