It was only in the 1960s that, thanks to the oil boom, Europe's former poorhouse became one of the richest countries on the continent. Norway boasts that the share of renewable energy in total electricity production is almost 99 percent, and a large part comes from hydropower.
The money for all these efforts still comes from businesses using extremely environmentally harmful fossil fuels. The country is making big steps. Anyone who strolls through the capital Oslo will eventually forget that there are cars on the streets because they can hardly be heard. Almost everyone drives electric, and the state has been heavily subsidizing the purchase of electric cars for years. It has invested the immense income from oil and gas exports in the so-called oil fund. In the first half of 2023 alone, there was an increase of the equivalent of over 130 billion euros.