From left: Terje Moe Gustavsen (Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Directorate of Public Roads), Agnar Aas (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate), Bente Nyland (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate), Ellen Hambro (Climate and Pollution Agency) and Øystein Olsen (Statistics Norway) just before handing over the Climate Cure report to Norway's Minister of Environment and Development, Erik Solheim.

The Climate Cure report ‘Tiltak og virkemidler for å nå norske klimamål mot 2020’ (Measures and instruments for achieving Norwegian climate targets by 2020) shows that it is necessary to carry out all the measures with a cost per tonne up to NOK 1,000 -1,500 in order to achieve emission reductions of 12 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents by 2020. The average cost will be considerably lower.

Climate Cure 2020 has considered which instruments the authorities can use to implement the measures - both individually and to achieve the overall target.

Intensive treatment

The report shows clearly that the current instruments and anticipated quota price increases alone will not be sufficient to meet the emissions targets.

“Intensive treatment will be necessary to achieve the targets for emissions reductions in Norway,” say the directors of the Climate and Pollution Agency, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Statistics Norway.

The five agencies have collaborated in the study. The work has been led by the Climate and Pollution Agency.

The earlier we start, the bigger the cuts

Once the government has introduced instruments and measures, it takes time before we see the results in the form of reduced emissions. The earlier decisions are taken as to which measures Norway will concentrate on, the greater the reduction in emissions that can be achieved by 2020.

Bigger cuts in the longer term

The report also shows that the potential for cutting emissions increases towards 2030 and in the longer term. In both the transport and industry sectors, technology that will not be developed until after 2020 could give substantial emissions cuts by 2030.

Measures to increase carbon uptake in forests have an even further horizon, for many of the measures 70 to 100 years. For the petroleum sector the reverse applies. Because production, and thereby emissions, are expected to fall as we approach 2030, measures to reduce CO2 emissions will become more expensive per tonne the longer we wait before investing.

Great demand for bioenergy

Many of the measures that have been investigated in Climate Cure 2020 involve changing over from direct use of fossil energy to renewable energy. Bioenergy will be in demand in all sectors. The industry and transport sectors in particular could come to demand a great deal of solid and fluid bioenergy.

The total demand for electricity will depend on the extent to which the petroleum sector will be electrified and what measures and adaptations will be made in the industry. Many of the Climate Cure measures will liberate electricity through increased energy efficiency, so that the overall demand for power need not increase.

A solid basis for decisions

The report is based on two different analysis methods. Both sector analysis and macro analysis have been used to review the possibilities for and the effects of climate measures - something that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has also recommended in its latest main report. The two analyses complement each other and together they give a solid basis for decisions.

Climate Cure 2020’s analysis of measures and instruments indicates various possibilities for achieving the national emissions targets. It points out the consequences of the different solutions without making recommendations.

Comprehensive sector-by-sector investigation

Climate Cure 2020’s main report contains analyses of measures and instruments in a number of areas. In all, 160 different measures have been considered in

• transport
• oil and gas production
• industry
• the building and district heating sector
• agriculture, forestry, waste and the use of fluorinated gases in products 

Click on the links above for fact sheets with the main findings of each individual sector analysis (in Norwegian)

Placing together all of the sector-by-sector measures indicates that it is possible to achieve an emissions reduction of 12 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents by 2020 by implementing all the measures with a cost per tonne up to about NOK 1,100.

Menus of measures 

In order to illustrate some main approaches, Climate Cure 2020 presents four different menus of measures and instruments. These represent stylised outer points that can illustrate the properties of different solutions.

Each of the menus achieves a 12 million tonne reduction in CO2 equivalents. The results of the different menus of measures and instruments illustrate that there are several ways to achieve the national target for emissions reduction. The exact composition of instruments in climate policy will in the end depend on how different considerations are weighted.

An open process and good collaboration

Collaboration between the five agencies, as well as a number of other government agencies, has been important.

“The great strength of the analysis of measures and instruments is that the five agencies have conducted the investigations together. We have also received valuable assistance from a number of other government agencies. I would like to praise the other agencies for the tremendous collaboration we have had,” says Ellen Hambro, director general of the Climate and Pollution Agency.

A number of technical and research centres have also contributed studies that have been used in Climate Cure 2020. The agencies have also emphasised an open process, and voluntary organisations, trade and industry organisations and other technical and professional experts have all been invited to provide input.

In addition to collaborating on the main report, the individual agencies have also prepared a number of their own analyses and other background documentation. The Climate Cure report and background documents (in Norwegian) may be found at www.klimakur2020.no.