Norway flaunts its green credentials – so why is it drilling more oil wells? | David Boyd

Never mind how many electric cars are sold there - Norway has to change tack and end prospecting for new oil reserves

" David Boyd is the UN special rapporteur on the environment and human rights

On my official UN visit to Norway in September, I found inspiring examples of leadership on climate change. I encountered a nearly emissions-free electricity system, the highest share of zero-emission vehicle sales in the world (almost half of all new cars sold are fully electric), and billions of dollars being invested in a Green Climate Fund that provides support to developing countries, as well as a burgeoning Climate and Forest Initiative.

However, Norway continues to explore for oil and gas at a time when the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that meeting the vital 1.5C target in the Paris agreement requires that the majority of existing fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned.

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