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Norwegian companies are abandoning ambitious climate projects, but top executives remain confident the energy transition is heading in the right direction.
– The green wave is moving forward, says long-term investor and chairman Maria Moræus Hanssen.
In recent years, Norwegian companies have closed down one after another Some ambitious and expensive climate plans.
However, Moraes Hansen disagrees that Norway is currently experiencing a slump in its energy transition. At the same time, she admits that things are generally progressing more slowly than she thought a decade ago.
– There are challenges along the way and it is hard to predict how quickly things will move. She believes that now we may be going through a period of reality-oriented.
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Statkraft is one of the most recent companies to launch Investment slowdown In sea breeze and hydrogen.
Statkraf CEO Birgitte Vartdal said the company had to change its investment strategy due to changes in market and cost conditions.
Like Morias Hansen, she still believes the green wave is far from abating.
– She told E24 that development is moving in the right direction.
– If you look at global developments, we expect that investments in renewable energy will be twice as high as fossil fuels this year. When we look at power generation in European countries, actual generation from wind and solar has increased significantly.
Rune Bjerke doesn’t think the green wave is coming back either.
– He told E24 that when certain plans are abandoned, it may be because the original plan on which the project was based is no longer valid.
Bjerke is chairman of aluminum giant Hydro and logistics company Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
The latter’s CEO Lasse Kristoffersen was recently out E24 And reported that Norway was not doing enough to combat climate change. He called the Norwegians “irresponsible climate profiteers.”
– We have a managing director who, on behalf of the company, himself and society, is impatient and thinks that we are not doing enough. It is a good thing that we have a strong-willed, visionary leader, says Bjerke.
– Complex
Fertilizer giant Yara announced this summer that they would have to add a big Climate projects on holdThe project will reduce emissions from one of Norway’s most polluting factories.
Yara CEO Svein Tore Holsether said the company would proceed with those plans, but they would have to step back and consider other options.
– We must face reality.
To achieve its climate plan, Holset must overcome obstacles such as higher electricity prices, network access and a lack of government aid.
——This shows that things are complicated. This is a new technology that needs to be scaled up, and the requirements are high.
Moræus Hanssen argues that business and industrial actors benefit from early communication of possible projects and that it is natural that none of this can be implemented for purely practical reasons.
– Changes in global value chains due to geopolitics and restrictions, rising interest rates, changing framework conditions, lack of regulatory initiatives, etc.
Asked what it was like to go from working to ensure high returns in the long term to working to standards for climate and social conditions, Moraes-Hansen said she had benefited from being on boards or in companies that had no ambition to do good.
Don’t give up on climate goals
Although Statkraft has chosen to scale back its offshore wind and hydrogen plans, Statkraft CEO Birgitte Vardal made it clear that the company remains confident in these technologies.
– This is very important for Europe’s overall energy balance, says Vartdal.
Yara CEO Svein Tore Holsether said the company was far from giving up on its climate goals and its ambitions for green fertilizers.
– My goal is to continue to reduce emissions. We just have to find other ways to do it.
He believes that closer cooperation between industry and politicians is absolutely necessary.
– The industry cannot launch large projects if it is not profitable. Politically set goals must also be followed by political actions.
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