Norway’s fair share of an ambitious climate effort

The report argues that Norway's fair share of the global climate effort is significantly larger than its population size suggests due to its high wealth and historical emissions. Using the Greenhouse Development Rights (GDR) framework, the analysis finds that Norway's combined Responsibility and Capacity Indicator (RCI) for 2020 is 0.84% of the global effort, despite representing only 0.07% of the world's population. To meet a 'Strong 2°C pathway', the report suggests Norway must combine ambitious domestic cuts—approximately 50% by 2030 relative to 1990 levels—with substantial international financial and technological support to achieve further reductions in other countries.

• Norway's fair share of the global climate effort is more than ten times its share of the world population, with a Responsibility and Capacity Indicator (RCI) of 0.84% for 2020 and 0.69% for 2030, compared to a population share of 0.07%.
• Under the main scenario (Strong 2°C pathway), Norway's total fair share of mitigation by 2030 would be more than 320 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent, which would require a reduction of nearly 600% below 1990 levels if undertaken solely domestically.
• Because total domestic reductions of 600% are infeasible, the report proposes a combination of roughly 50% domestic mitigation by 2030 and international support to achieve approximately 270 MtCO2eq of mitigation in other countries.
• The financial cost of Norway's international mitigation support in 2030 is estimated between US$ 5 billion and US$ 18 billion per year, depending on the cost per ton of CO2-equivalent used.
• Norway's capacity to contribute is significantly higher than its historical responsibility, meaning that scenarios prioritizing capacity over responsibility would increase Norway's required contribution.
• The analysis utilizes the Greenhouse Development Rights (GDR) framework, which calculates fair shares by excluding the economic capacity and emissions of people living below a 'development threshold' of US$20 per person per day (PPP adjusted).

APA

Kartha, S., Athanasiou, T., Baer, P., & Kemp-Benedict, E. (2014). Norway’s fair share of an ambitious climate effort. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-KN-2014-Norways-fair-share.pdf

Chicago

Kartha, Sivan, Tom Athanasiou, Paul Baer, and Eric Kemp-Benedict. Norway’s fair share of an ambitious climate effort. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-KN-2014-Norways-fair-share.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kartha |first1=Sivan |last2=Athanasiou |first2=Tom |last3=Baer |first3=Paul |last4=Kemp-Benedict |first4=Eric |title=Norway’s fair share of an ambitious climate effort |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=August 2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-KN-2014-Norways-fair-share.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kartha2014norways, author = {Kartha, Sivan and Athanasiou, Tom and Baer, Paul and Kemp-Benedict, Eric}, title = {{Norway’s fair share of an ambitious climate effort}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-KN-2014-Norways-fair-share.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }