Quick information about climate/environmental measures in Norway

Why we must take climate change seriously:

The UN climate panel States that most of the global warming is man-made. Since pre-industrial times the world has become about 0.8 degrees warmer. The warming is expected to continue throughout this century and is linked to an increased risk of extreme weather, more rain, flooding and ocean acidification. Climate change has serious consequences. Emissions of greenhouse gases must, therefore, to a large extent be reduced. The shift from fossil energy to renewable energy is therefore highly necessary to preserve the earth as we know today.

"The Green shift" meaning:

"A change process that increases value creation with less overall environmental impact and emissions"

What does the green shift mean for us?

"The Green shift must take place within a period of about 30-50 years. In the same period of time, the world's population will increase by at least 50 per cent. At the same time, more people must be lifted out of poverty. The world's middle class is expected to increase from about 400 million as it is today to 1, 2 billion in just about 15 years. "

The Green shift must be global, but it is crucial that Norway focuses on what "we" can do. Both as a country and as individuals. Many measures must be implemented to reduce our carbon footprint. Improvements and enhancements within households help reduce our energy consumption.

Households

Current situation

• Norway remains one of the few countries where electricity is the main heating source
• The main heating source for about (73 per cent) of Norwegian households is based on electricity:

Electric space heaters (48 per cent)

Electric floor heating (7 per cent)

Air to air heat pumps (21 per cent)

Central heating with electricity

• Aproxemetly 12 per cent uses fuel wood as their main source of heating
• It is especially farming houses that use fuelwood. About half of the farmers said that they use fuelwood as their main heating source their average wood consumption is around 11-12 000 kWh per year.
• Norway's Power consumption per household is the highest after Kuwait (2012). In 1996 it was a peak of about 18 600 kWh per household. Then there was a downward trend in the power consumption per household and was in 2003 come down to around 15 500 kWh. Since 2003 the consumption per household fluctuated within the interval 15 500-17 500 kWh and was about 16 000 kWh in 2016.

Energy per household KWh (1993-2016)