An Exhausting War on Emissions Norway's Efforts to Contain Greenhouse Gases Move Forward -- and Backfire

quote:In 1991, Norway became one of the first countries in the world to impose a stiff tax on harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, the country's emissions should have dropped. Instead, they have risen by 15%.

Although the tax forced Norway's oil and gas sector to become among the greenest in the world, soaring energy prices led to a boom in offshore production, which in turn boosted overall emissions. So did drivers. Norwegians, who already pay nearly $10 a gallon, took the tax in stride, buying more cars and driving them more. And numerous industries won exemptions from the tax, carrying on unchanged.

Variables for fluctuating prices for carbon seem to have been a factor. Even with a tax that has priced carbon for fifteen years at twice the price in EU ETS markets, Norway's CO2 emissions have risen significantly. Federal Liberals should probably compare Canada's energy/fossil fuel exporting economy with that of Norway and not Sweden. Canada is said to produce 2% of global GHG emissions. The USA, our neighbors and largest importer of Canadian fossil fuels, produces somewhere around 22% of global GHG emissions.

The Problem:
USA(massive consumer of carbon)<<-->>Canada(massive supplier of carbon)