A greener shade of black? Statoil, the Norwegian government and climate change,1990-2005

Abstract

This article explores the political interplay between Norway’s national oil company Statoil and its government during a period when a truly global debate over climate emerged. The article sheds light on how the climate issue concerned the relationship between a Nordic state and its most important state-controlled enterprise, and exposes how Statoil responded to increasing calls for decarbonization while being privileged in climate policy-making processes. Furthermore, the article explores the origin and shortcomings of the puzzling argument about Norway’s ‘environment-friendly’ oil and gas, and discusses how this argument helped enable Statoil and the rest of the industry to continue with business as usual despite growing social demands for the oil industry to step up its climate efforts.