Increasing waste amounts and air emissions

The state of the environment depends on a complex variety of biological and physical processes. Human pressures such as various types of pollution and the use of natural resources are having substantial adverse impacts on the environment in general and on our own surroundings. Even though technological advances have improved our ability to limit many of the negative effects of economic activity, economic growth and rising consumption are putting increasing pressure on natural resources and the environment.

The information in this article has been taken from the report Natural Resources and the Environment 2006 , Statistics Norway's annual overview of the state of the environment and environmental trends in Norway. For a general overview of environmental statistics and recent updates, see http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/01/ .

Supply and use of natural resources

Oil and gas

Norway’s economy is closely linked to the utilisation of natural resources. Extraction of oil and natural gas is clearly Norway’s most important industry, measured in terms of export revenue and value added. In 2005, petroleum extraction accounted for about 23 per cent of GDP and 50 per cent of Norway’s export revenues.

Sustainable management of natural resources is of crucial importance for Norway’s economy and prosperity. Given the current rate of extraction, non-renewable resources such as oil and gas will only last for a limited period of time, and will in the foreseeable future have to be replaced by other sources of revenue.

Hydropower

Hydropower accounts for almost 100 per cent of electricity production in Norway, as compared with 19 per cent for the world as a whole. In 2005, there was an export surplus of 12 TWh.

Other resources

The traditional industries based on natural resources - agriculture, forestry and fisheries - together only account for about 1.5 per cent of GDP today, but in addition to their economic role, they are important for the maintenance of many communities and local culture. Renewable resources such as fish stocks and forests must be used and managed in accordance with their carrying capacity. At present, the pressure on several fish stocks in Norwegian waters is too high. However, direct harvesting is not the only important factor. Climate change and rising sea temperatures also affect species and ecosystems.

Protected areas

As of 1 January 2006, protected areas included 25 national parks, 1 753 nature reserves, 159 protected landscapes and 98 other types of protected area. Areas protected under the Nature Conservation Act account for 40 288 km ² or about 12 per cent of Norway’s total area. The total area protected has risen by 2.6 per cent over the last year.

Pollution and environmental problems

Emission of greenhouse gases

The use of natural resources and other economic activity puts pressure on the environment, for example in the form of releases of pollution to air, water and soils. In 2005, oil and gas extraction on the continental shelf accounted for almost one third of Norway’s aggregate greenhouse gas emissions. The emission level in 2005 was eight percentage points above its Kyoto commitment level (the maximum average level of emissions for the Kyoto period 2008-2012). If Norway’s emissions exceed this level, the country must either take part in emissions trading to acquire emission units or make use of the other Kyoto mechanisms.

Waste

The total quantities of waste generated in Norway are rising, and household waste generation is increasing most. Strict emission standards and new technology have resulted in large reductions in many of the emissions associated with waste management, and an increasing proportion of the waste is being recovered to provide new raw materials and energy.

Noise

Noise is one of the environmental problems that affects the largest number of people in Norway. About 1.7 million Norwegians are exposed to noise levels exceeding 50 dB outside their homes, and about half a million of them are annoyed or highly annoyed by noise. The overall level of noise annoyance from transport has increased as a result of a rise in the volume of traffic and in the number of people living in urban areas, despite a reduction in annoyance from certain types of transport. Noise can be harmful to health, and often has the greatest impact on the most vulnerable groups of the population.

Water pollution

There has been more focus on water quality in Norwegian inland and coastal waters since the first North Sea Agreement was signed in 1990, and more recently because of the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, which lays down standards for water quality that also apply to Norwegian water bodies. In recent years, both Norway and other countries that drain to the Skagerrak and the North Sea basin have invested substantial resources in waste water treatment. The main reason has been that the pollution load in these waters has resulted in eutrophication and periodical algal blooms. These measures have resulted in substantial reductions of the Norwegian discharges of phosphorus and nitrogen to the North Sea since 1985.

Chemicals

Since the 1930s, global production of chemicals has risen from 1 million tonnes a year to more than 400 million tonnes. More than 100 000 new substances have been synthesised, in addition to all those that occur naturally. Some chemicals are known to cause serious damage to health and the environment, but our knowledge of the vast majority of substances is incomplete. Ensuring safe handling and use of chemicals has therefore become one of the most important challenges for society.

Links between environment and economy

Emission intensities

The Norwegian Government wishes to maintain economic growth and at the same time reduce the associated environmental pressures. Emission intensity can be reduced either by improving the eco-efficiency of individual industries so that they generate less pollution per unit of value added, or through structural changes in the economy, so that less polluting industries grow at the expense of those that are more polluting.

For Norway as a whole, emission intensity for greenhouse gases, acidifying gases and ozone precursors has decreased steadily since 1990. This does not necessarily mean that all industries have become more emission-efficient, but that economic growth has taken place particularly in industries that are less emission-intensive. It is a basic principle of international environmental law that producers should pay for the adverse impacts of their economic activity on the environment (the polluter-pays principle).

In Norway, there are currently relatively large discrepancies between how much different industries contribute to the country’s total emissions to air, and the proportion of environmental taxes they pay. CO ₂ tax is an example.