Norway to pour billions more into climate fund
May 10, 2014 - Xinhua - china.org.cn
The Norwegian government will increase its contribution by 12.75 billion Norwegian
kroner (about 2.16 billion U.S. dollars) in the next three years to a national
fund aimed at efforts to mitigate climate change, Prime Minister Erna Solberg
announced on Friday.
The announcement came at the annual party meeting of the ruling Conservatives
Party, which is on at Gardermoen, a small town near Oslo.
The increase will come on top of the annual 5 billion kroner Norwegian
political parties have already agreed for the so-called climate fund to
promote renewable energy and energy alterations.
To date, the fund contains 40 billion kroner.
"Let there be no doubt where we stand," Solberg told her party
meeting. "Norway will take its share of the burden, as established
in the climate agreement."
In her speech, Solberg also criticized the previous government led by
the Labor Party, saying their proposal to cut carbon by buying UN quotas
did not really contribute to reducing Norway's emissions.
The renewed pledge is a continuation of Norway's efforts in alleviating
impact of climate change, which were formally set down in a 2008 agreement.
The agreement, known as"The Climate Agreement,"was renewed and
updated in 2012.
Within the agreement, the majority of Norway's political parties formalized
intentions to work for various climate change-mitigating efforts, such
as rewarding public transport and increasing funding for clean energy research.
One of the climate-change mitigation efforts by Norway was the previous
Norwegian government's push for building a carbon capturing oil refinery
at Mongstad on Norway's western coast, which was shelved in September 2013
when it went too far over budget. Endi
|