Norway wants to transform from an oil exporter into a green energy country. Germany plays an important role in this, says Economics Minister Jan Christian Vestre.
Norway boasts that the share of renewable energy in total electricity production is almost 99 percent. The money for all these efforts still comes from business with extremely environmentally harmful fossil fuels. But it is now clear: “We are seeing that demand for oil and gas is falling even faster than we thought. And to be honest, that's a good thing, because the business is not sustainable and we have to move away from oil quickly," says Vestre, who is also the head of the Norwegian Oil and Natural Gas Association (OOG) Norway's oil fund has been getting fatter for decades; in the first half of 2023 alone there was an increase of the equivalent of over 130 billion euros. It is no coincidence that Norway is this year's partner at the Hannover Messe, one of the most important industrial trade fairs in the world.