Norway has just taken pro-environmental zealotry to new heights, prohibiting the sale of all gas-powered cars by the year 2025. While the decision is politically popular and supported by parties on the both sides of the aisle, the prospective ban may be fiscally unsound.
Norway is one of the world’s most prolific oil producers, rivaling Mexico and Qatar. “Norwegians produced and exported in 2013 more than 1.2 million barrels of oil, placing it 14th overall on a list of exporting countries,” explains The Daily Caller.
Logistically speaking, however, the move may be a smooth one. Already, a quarter of Norwegian cars on the road are electric. Banning gas-powered cars would all but guarantee that proportion quadruples.
Unsurprisingly, electric car manufacturers are jumping for joy, eager to take advantage of the new government mandate.
Norway’s oil industry, however, was far from thrilled, arguing that increased oil production would actually help the country not just in the short-term but in the long-run as well.
“The ban is complicated by Norway’s allegiance to oil development, especially the country’s revolution in natural gas exploration,” adds The Daily Caller.
“If Europe were to replace coal with Norwegian natural gas, this would result in a 50% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions for every unit of energy produced. We produce gas with low emissions, which can replace coal with high emissions,” stated the director of the Norwegian oil and gas association and a former minister of finance, Schjøtt-Pedersen, according to The Daily Caller.
The only hold-outs in Norway’s government appear to be a few members of effectively irrelevant fringe right-wing parties. The country’s two main parties, the labor party and the Democratic Party, have already signed onto the proposal.
Norway’s oil industry, however, was far from thrilled, arguing that increased oil production would actually help the country not just in the short-term but in the long-run as well.
Denmark and India are considering similar bans in the foreseeable future. As a Northern European developed economy, Denmark can realistically make the energy transition. The same cannot be said about India. India’s large population and oil-dependent economy prohibit the possibility of any radical energy overhauls, at least for the time being. Despite massive strides in the tech sector, India is still considered a developing economy, one that has not yet cultivated a stable middle-class. However, the country may see even more development and growth in the next decade as it hopes to surpass China as the most competitive economy in Asia.