Norway moves closer to banning sales of gas

UPDATE: June 6, 2016, 3:33 p.m. EDTThe agreement political parties in Norway reached won't "ban" fossil fuel-powered cars, according to Norway's Minister of Climate and Environment Vidar Helgesen. In a Twitter exchange with Mashable, he stated: "There is an agreement on a target of zero new fossil-fuel cars sold" from 2025 on. "No outright ban, but strong actions required," he said. In effect, this could allow some oil and diesel-powered cars to be sold, depending on the enforcement of the target.

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Norway, Europe's largest oil and gas producer, is reportedly close to instituting a ban on gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles sold in the country. If implemented, the precedent-setting policy would go into effect in 2025.

However, there is some debate about whether all the major political parties have in fact agreed to the nonrenewable car ban. 

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On June 2, the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringslivpublished a story claiming that four of the major political parties in the country had reached a deal to ban the sale of gas and diesel-powered cars beginning in 2025.

Such a ban would be groundbreaking among major industrialized nations. 

Subsequent news reports have raised doubts about whether two of the four parties that were part of the agreement have actually signed off on it, and the country's climate and environment minister, Vidar Helgesen, suggested on Twitter that the original story was simplified.

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The tweet from Helgesen below translates (via Twitter's inexact translator function) to: "Very good with the groundbreaking agreement on climate/energy and transport (and we're used to that newspaper cover pages simplify)."

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The possible gas and diesel-powered car ban did catch the attention of a powerful player in the electric vehicle market, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk applauded the reported policy change.

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Musk shouldn't get his hopes up too much regarding a boost in Tesla sales, though, considering how small Norway's vehicle market is and how well-established battery electric vehicles already are there. 

Norway has a population of only about 5 million, with a rapidly growing market for electric vehicles, thanks to a variety of policy incentives aimed at making these cars more attractive options for consumers. 

In 2015, 70,000 battery electric vehicles were registered in Norway, with electric vehicles accounting for 18% of new car sales that year, according to a recent study. 

A nonrenewable vehicle ban may therefore be largely symbolic, since if current adoption rates continue, electric vehicles could account for the majority of the vehicle fleet sold in Norway by 2025.

A country wrestling with its dual role

Norway has a unique role in the energy world as one of the largest exporters of the fossil fuels that are causing global warming, while at the same time pursuing policies to clean up at home and advocate for a global transition to renewable energy. 

Norway was the world's 15th largest oil producer as of 2014, producing about 1,900 barrels of oil each day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). It is also a major producer of natural gas. 

Almost all of Norway's oil and gas production is exported, with the country ranking among the top five global exporters of oil and gas, according to an EIA analysis. 

However, the vast majority of Norway's domestic energy comes from renewable hydropower sources. This makes battery electric vehicles an even cleaner option than in countries like the U.S., which rely on a larger amount of coal and natural gas-fired power plants for the energy that powers electric vehicles.