Norway to pour billions more into climate fund

May 10, 2014 - Xinhua - china.org.cn

The Norwegian government will increase its contribution by 12.75 billion Norwegian kroner (about 2.16 billion U.S. dollars) in the next three years to a national fund aimed at efforts to mitigate climate change, Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced on Friday.

The announcement came at the annual party meeting of the ruling Conservatives Party, which is on at Gardermoen, a small town near Oslo.

The increase will come on top of the annual 5 billion kroner Norwegian political parties have already agreed for the so-called climate fund to promote renewable energy and energy alterations.

To date, the fund contains 40 billion kroner.

"Let there be no doubt where we stand," Solberg told her party meeting. "Norway will take its share of the burden, as established in the climate agreement."

In her speech, Solberg also criticized the previous government led by the Labor Party, saying their proposal to cut carbon by buying UN quotas did not really contribute to reducing Norway's emissions.

The renewed pledge is a continuation of Norway's efforts in alleviating impact of climate change, which were formally set down in a 2008 agreement.

The agreement, known as"The Climate Agreement,"was renewed and updated in 2012.

Within the agreement, the majority of Norway's political parties formalized intentions to work for various climate change-mitigating efforts, such as rewarding public transport and increasing funding for clean energy research.

One of the climate-change mitigation efforts by Norway was the previous Norwegian government's push for building a carbon capturing oil refinery at Mongstad on Norway's western coast, which was shelved in September 2013 when it went too far over budget. Endi