On Monday 6 June, 300 leaders from the UN, business industry, civil society and politics will meet at Hotel Bristol to discuss how Norway and Norwegian business can take an active role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Several international and national leaders will participate at the conference arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), Yara International and The Norwegian ForUM for Development and Environment.

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende, President of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development David Nabarro, will initiate the Conference.

Other speakers include:
Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Yara International
Kristin Halvorsen, Director of Center for International Climate and Environmental Research
Elisabeth Grieg, Chairman of the Grieg Group
Jon Hindar, CEO of Cermaq
Borghild Tønnessen-Krokan, Acting Director at Forum for Development and Environment
Svein Oppegaard, Executive Director, Labour market and Social Affairs at NHO
Jon Lomøy, Director of Norad

(Nadarajah Sethurupan)

According to prominent Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (subscription required), the Scandinavian country agreed to enact a sales ban on gasoline-powered cars by the year 2025. Apparently, the four primary political parties of Norway were locked in a debate regarding the proposed ban, and might have reached an agreement this week.

Despite Norway’s status as one of the world’s primary oil exporters , members from both the left and the right side of the political spectrum worked together to create this ban. If the law officially passes, the only new vehicles sold in Norway would be electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars.

While this ban might initially seem unrealistic, Norwegians purchase more electric vehicles than any other country, with electric cars occupying a 24 percent share of the market already. Manufacturers are ramping up development and production of zero-emissions cars, so Norwegian buyers will have access to a larger lineup of electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to choose from when it bids ha det to gasoline.

What doesn’t fit into this electrified utopia are perhaps those who might rely on vans and trucks for hauling and working in inhospitable terrain. While certain amends would likely arrive for companies who value compact trucks like the Volkswagen Amarok and Toyota Hilux, Norway would likely see a shrinking of fuel station infrastructure as a result, making the regular operation of combustion engines increasingly difficult. Unfortunately, there are no zero emissions trucks currently in production that would meet Norway’s stringent proposal.

According to a report from Electrek, this isn’t the first time a ban on combustion engines was considered. India is currently creating a ban by 2025, with the Dutch looking to impose the same restrictions by 2030, with parliament currently split on the controversial issue.

Of course, Tesla kingpin Elon Musk celebrated the news on Twitter, where he commended the Norwegians for moving forward with the proposed ban.

According to Electrek, the two of the four political parties have yet to completely agree to this ban.

The global use of electric vehicles is on the rise, though more can be gained by referencing European and Asian policies, an IEA report found.

The International Energy Agency said it expects a record-setting 1.26 million electric vehicles to be on the road by the end of the year. Compared with last year, the IEA found substantial gains in the sale and construction of the infrastructure needed to support a broader network of electric vehicles worldwide.

An initiative backed by the Paris-based agency called for 20 million electric vehicles globally by the start of the next decade. Despite the milestone expected this year, the IEA said electric vehicles only make up about 0.1 percent of the total market share for vehicles.

Cheaper fuels as a result of lower crude oil prices may be swaying consumer behavior. In the United States, a federal report found gasoline demand for the week ending May 29 was up 3.5 percent from the same week last year. The average national retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline for Friday of $2.34, meanwhile, is about 15 percent less than this date in 2015.

A report this week from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said larger trucks and sports utility vehicles were selling faster than sedans and other cars.

A measure included the Paris climate declaration calls for 100 million electric vehicles on the market by 2030 in an effort to curb pollution levels. In the United States, the transportation sector accounted for about a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions.

The IEA report found policy support mechanisms, like a Dutch move to cut registration taxes for electric vehicles, could drive more commuters to electric cars. Other policy initiatives the IEA found were beneficial were moves to eliminate tolls for electric vehicles and fee waivers related to tailpipe emission standards.

The IEA found the United States is at the bottom when it comes to electric vehicles, which make up about 0.7 percent of the total U.S. market. Norway had the highest share globally, with 23 percent. Chinese registrations tripled last year.

“The role of the railways in the transport system is to be strengthened. An increase in grants and improvements in organisation will transform the railways into a key transport sector in the future. The railway reform will better distribute the various fields of responsibility and thus ensure a more professionally organised system. I am satisfied with the substantial and positive engagement shown by the participants in the railway sector in connection with the work on the reform”.

These were the words of Minister of Transport and Communications Ketil Solvik-Olsen when he, together with representatives from the co-operating partners Høyre, Fremskrittspartiet, Venstre and Kristelig Folkeparti, presented the main elements of the plans for a reform of the railway sector.

“The current parliamentary majority has demonstrated the will and intention to invest in the railways. After the change of government in 2013 grants in the railways have increased by about 50 percent, and maintenance in particular has benefited from this. The backlog in maintenance will be reduced in 2015 after many years of neglect. This is already laying the foundations for a more robust infrastructure. At the same time we need to make changes in the way the railways are organised in order to clarify responsibility for tasks and thus ensure improved exploitation of all resources. The current organization is not fully suited to purpose, and the major participants in the railway sector have been asking for a reform, a fact that serves to emphasize the need for systemic change”, says Solvik-Olsen.

The necessity of a railway reform
“Many of the participants in the railway sector have pointed to a number of challenges in the railway sector, amongst these the division of responsibilities in a number of areas. One example of this is that responsibility for railway property is shared between Jernbaneverket and NSBs Rom Eiendom. This creates unclear areas of responsibility in connection with the development of the rail hubs. The reform will provide a better solution for this”, says the Minister
“Many have also pointed to the weak economic incentives in the sector. The current form of organisation does not produce enough customer focus. The railway sector fails to fully exploit the benefits inherent in the competitive factor. Competition contributes to increased efficiency and innovation. There is also potential to improve co-ordination between the railways and other forms of public transport.

Measures for a better railway
The government bases the reform on state ownership of the railway infrastructure, and that the railway sector will be a target for investment and improvement. The necessary resources must be allocated and reorganisation accomplished in order to achieve this goal.

One of the proposed changes to ensure that the railway sector is better equipped to meet the future is to gather more governmental responsibilities in the sector into one state controlled and strong governmental body. The unit will amongst other tasks deal with long-term planning and have the role of co-ordinator in relation to the sector’s participants and other forms of public transport.

The plan is to set up a state controlled unit with the main task of operating, maintaining and building railway infrastructure. In order to ensure predictability for the unit, the unit will enter into long-term licensing agreements with the state. The unit will also be responsible for the management of all railway property in Norway. This will contribute to an improved, more efficient and more effective development of stations and transportation hubs.
Some railway operational and maintenance work is already open to competition, and the experience gleaned from this is positive. The government envisages that more operational and maintenance tasks will be opened for competition over time, and with longer-term agreements in place for the parties. This notwithstanding, a state-owned participant will have overall responsibility safety and for the quality of all maintenance work carried out.

Competition for improved rail services
The driving force behind the reform is the strong political aim to give the railway’s customers with better, improved rail services. Norway already has experience with competition in the public transport sector. The competition to operate Gjøvikbanen has resulted in a satisfying increase in the number of passengers carried, and the customer satisfaction is very high. There is also full competition in goods transport by rail. The government will bring the positive elements of competition into the railway sector to a higher degree with the aim of improving vitality, efficiency and innovation.

Competition in the railway sector will be regulated through licenses, where the state ensures attractive rail travel service on stretches that are not necessarily economically viable. The plan is therefore to permit train companies to compete for traffic on the various stretches by agreement with the government.

Regard for railway sector employees
The current employees in the sector are the single most important resource in ensuring a successful transition in the railway sector. The government will place emphasis on an including and predictable process for the employees. The employees’ organisations have been informed of the main features of the planned changes. Employees’ organisations will be heard when measures are to be given concrete content.

The reform contains no plans to introduce alterations to pension schemes that are established in existing state-owned companies.

The Railways Act includes provisions that make certain provisions regarding transfer of ownership of undertakings of the Working Environment Act apply to competitions for agreements on passenger transport by rail, if after the competition the activity is operated with the same type of transport vehicle as was previously the case.
A White Paper on the reform will be presented to Stortinget in the near future.

For more information please contact Political Advisor Reynir Johannesson (Frp): 465 48 595

Norway has become the first country in the world to commit to zero deforestation. The Norwegian parliament’s Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment made the pledge in a recommendation on the government’s Action Plan on Nature Diversity. The committee requested that the government “impose requirements to ensure that public procurements do not contribute to deforestation of the rainforest.”

The committee also requested that the government protect biodiversity through a new policy and the investments made by the Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global.

“This is an important victory in the fight to protect the rainforest. Over the last few years, a number of companies have committed to cease the procurement of goods that can be linked to destruction of the rainforest”, said Nils Hermann Ranum of Rainforest Foundation Norway. “Until now, this has not been matched by similar commitments from governments. Thus, it is highly positive that the Norwegian state is now following suit and making the same demands when it comes to public procurements.”

The Rainforest Foundation of Norway called on other countries follow Norway’s lead and commit to zero deforestation, particularly Germany and the UK, the two nations that in 2014 at the UN Climate Summit in New York made a joint declaration along with Norway stating their intention to “promote national commitments that encourage deforestation-free supply chains, including through public procurement policies to sustainably source commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef and timber.”

The Norwegian Environment Agency has identified new chemicals of concern that it wants to see added to the country’s list of priority substances.

In a letter to the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the agency has proposed the following substances for inclusion:

four benzotriazoles: UV-320, UV-327, UV-328 and UV-350;

dibutyltin (DBT) and dioctyltin (DOT); and

perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and its related substances.

The list, which contains over 30 chemicals and groups of chemicals, is part of the Norwegian government’s target to eliminate or substantially reduce releases of priority substances.

These can include those with persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) and endocrine disrupting properties.

The agency says benzotriazole, which can be used to protect materials from solar UV rays, is a substance of concern as it is PBT/vPvB.

According to the agency, it can be toxic and has been found in the milk of mammals and in cod and shrimp in the Oslo fjord and at the bottom of lakes in Norway.

The four benzotriazoles substances are named on the REACH Candidate List as SVHCs.

Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid-related substances are vPvB, the agency said. They are also suspected of being endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and have been found in polar cod, gulls and bears, and ringed seals.

PFHxS substances are used broadly in firefighting foam, carpets and textiles, electronics and non-stick cookware.
They share similar properties to another perfluorinated substance on the priority list: perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), which the agency said has been found in breast milk and may be transmitted to the foetus in pregnant women.

Possible EDCs
DBT and DOT are used in certain adhesives and plastic products and have similar “harmful effects” like their “sister” substance group TBT, which is already on the priority list.

They have PBT properties, the agency said, and are potential EDCs and can affect reproduction. They do not decompose easily and have been found in small living organisms such as mussels.

“If the proposal to add these substances is supported, the decision to update the list of priority substances will be made by the government,” Heidi Morka, head of chemicals at the Norwegian Environment Agency, told Chemical Watch.

“This is published in the national budget for 2017, after being presented to the Storting (Parliament) in October 2016.” The national budget presents the government’s programme for the implementation of economic policy and the government’s priorities.

A list for learning, not legislation
Those on the list are not regulated, but it serves as a basis for eliminating their release by 2020.
“If Norway considers that further action is necessary, after the listing of substances, measures such as amendments in regulations (restrictions) will be considered,” Ms Morka said.

The list is an “important base” that helps the agency prioritise regulatory proposals under the EU chemicals regulations REACH and CLP, and also for its work under the UN Stockholm Convention, Ms Morka said.

In addition, a requirement to substitute substances that cause damage to health or the environment is laid down in the Norwegian Product Control Act, Ms Morka said, which ensures a shift to possible lower-risk alternatives.