Norwegian carbon budget : an evaluation of the United Kingdom Climate Change Act's carbon budget and Norwegian climate policies

Abstract

For the past decade, political discussions, briefings, and White Papers have been leading up to the possibility of drafting a Norwegian climate law in 2017. Norwegian domestic emissions have been on the rise since 1990 due mainly to the oil / gas and transport sectors. This is despite Norwegian participation in EU climate regulations, and a plethora of domestic measures including other legally binding acts. Reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is an extremely complex challenge that calls for a varied approach in terms climate policy and governance solutions. This analysis attempts to understand how a carbon budget similar to that of the United Kingdom Climate Change Act’s carbon budget would function in the Norwegian context. Aside from using the UK carbon budget as a frame of reference, the time inconsistency problem and domestic politics problem (Kydland & Prescott, 1977) are also employed to further understand why broad support may still result in weak measures. It is the aim of this analysis to contribute to the Norwegian climate law conversation by proposing a Norwegian carbon budget. The main findings are that existing Norwegian climate acts consist of some of the structural components of the UK carbon budget however components lacking from Norwegian climate policy has resulted in vulnerability. The currently existing acts are also providing support to the notion that additional domestic climate regulations are not necessary. Therefore attention is being redirected toward international measures to reduce emissions rather than improving domestic conditions. This, however, has the opportunity to change with the development of the Norwegian climate law.