The increased use of biofuels alone contributed to reducing direct CO2 emissions in Norway by 0.6 million metric tons from 2016 to 2017. Compared to that, the growth of
electric cars registered in the country contributed to a reduction of only 0.1 million metric ton CO2. In total, direct CO2 emission from road traffic decreased by one million metric tons.
What is direct emission?
There are several ways to calculate emissions from road traffic. Direct emissions look at what vehicles emit from greenhouse gases when burning or using fuel, respectively. Opposed to this is lifecycle assessment (LCA), which considers emissions from the entire fuel value chain, i.e. from mining via production and transport, to combustion and use through vehicles. LCA emission from road traffic in Norway was reduced by 0.8 million metric tons in the period from 2017 to 2018.
Renewable sources in Norway
Apart from using less vehicles powered with fossil fuels and driving more and more with biofuel and electric power, Norway is in general very keen in renewable energy sources. Hydro power accounts for the largest amount of
electricity production in the country. According to the most recent data, the
production increased in the past decade, reaching nearly 134 terawatt hours in 2017.