This month, Norway Announced new climate rules for companies in which the government is a majority shareholder. Notable on the list is Equinor: operator and co-owner of Bay du Nord, which will be Canada’s first deepwater offshore oil project.
The rules mean that companies must set targets and make plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit warming to 2 C, ideally 1.5 C, compared to pre-industrial levels. Similar to Canada’s new guidelines for oil and gas projects, Norway’s regulations do not require companies like Equinor to halt oil and gas production. Canadian guidelines require that new projects achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and meet the standards of similar projects around the world that produce the fewest emissions.
Norwegian energy giant Equinor and its sister company Husky received environmental approval for the Bay du Nord project in April. It is planned to include a floating oil production station and the drilling of up to 40 wells in the Flamenco Passage basin off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The investment decision for the project will come in the next few years, according to an Equinor executive.
Critics of Canada’s guidelines were quick to point out that no oil and gas project can be net zero when accounting for downstream emissions, which take place once fossil fuels are burned to run a car or heat someone’s house, for example. The Canadian government’s reliance on not counting those emissions and using unproven technology as carbon capture potentially making the production stage net zero is a mistake, they added.
new from norway rules could mean a few things for Bay du Nord, explained Conor Curtis, communications chief for the Sierra Club Canada.
The report detailing the new policy says companies must include downstream emissions, which Curtis says is good to see, especially considering the absence of such a requirement in Canada.
Norway’s guidelines have more rules than Canada’s and, in practical terms, mean that no new oil and gas projects should be allowed to go forward, he said. It’s not clear what will happen if companies don’t follow the rules: Norwegian Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre saying a Norwegian media outlet that is sure that companies will follow the rules and if they don’t, make decisions and assessments about company ownership.
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“For Equinor, I think it makes it incredibly difficult to justify starting up new oil projects…because they have to report their emissions, because [Norway is] Looking at [downstream] emissions as well,” he said.
“There is no practical way that they can do that and also report that they are reducing emissions in the next few years. So, you know, they could have tried to argue that they have a plan. But there is no real scientific basis for them to successfully implement it.”
dress said The rules will lead to greater emissions transparency for Equinor’s projects, but they said nothing about the company having to close or stop fossil fuel extraction.
This month, Norway announced new climate rules for companies in which the government is a majority shareholder. Notable on the list is Equinor: operator and co-owner of Bay du Nord, which will be Canada’s first deepwater offshore oil project.
Regardless, the report adds to the pressure on Equinor, Curtis said. The Sierra Club is currently part of a lawsuit against the environmental approval of Bay du Nord, along with environmental groups Ecojustice and Équiterre, as well as Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Inc. (MTI), an organization representing eight Mi’ gmaq communities in New Brunswick. There is also an active lawsuit against Equinor in Argentinawhere, until now, courts have suspended offshore seismic testing in part because the company provided too little information during the environmental assessment process.
Norway’s new rules also underscore the instability of Bay du Nord, which is still unfunded, Curtis said. He points out that Equinor has long had the ability to undertake renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, and that ultimately a pivot would be best for the project.
Meanwhile, WWF Norway predicted Equinor’s emissions from projects it is currently operating and found will increase by 22 percent between now and 2030, directly contradicting Equinor’s current goal of reducing emissions 20 percent by 2030.
“The increased focus on climate by the Norwegian government should have consequences for projects with large emissions and serious consequences for nature, such as the Wisting field in the Arctic, the Rosebank field in the UK, Bay du Nord in Canada and offshore exploration activity. coast of Argentina,” said Karoline Andaur, CEO of WWF Norway.
“…Equinor should change its business model to be in line with the Paris Agreement. This means that they must stop new investments in oil and invest in a green future.”