Dirty Secret Behind Norway's Clean Energy

The happiest and most democratic country in the world funds its very green power by selling its plentiful fossil fuels to the rest of us.

- James Watkins

IN NORWAY, THE DISCUSSION AROUND det grønne skiftet – the green shift – focuses on a completely different set of issues than in most other countries. Because not only is Norway the most highly developed, happiest and most democratic country in the world, it’s also one of the greenest: 98% of its electricity comes from renewable sources (almost entirely hydropower). It also has the largest share of electric car use in the world and ranks third among rich countries for its low carbon-intensive economy, behind only Sweden and Switzerland.

Nevertheless, environmental campaigner Christoffer Ringnes Klyve’s organisation, Future in Our Hands, counts 30,000 passionate members fighting for even more climate action. And that’s because Norway has a giant environmental elephant in the room: it is one of the world’s largest exporters of oil and gas, a moral stain on the country’s green image. In fact, if you include emissions from its exported fossil fuels, Norway plummets from having one of the least carbon intensive economies among wealthy countries, to having the most – by far.