Norway has submitted its INDC to the UN ahead of the December Paris talks, pledging to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

Norway intends to fulfill the commitment in cooperation with the EU, and said it will develop an emissions budget for the 2021-2030 period.

Norway’s power and industry sectors are already regulated under the EU ETS. The cooperation aims to link the country’s non-ETS sectors to the EU’s system of annual accounting and inter-governmental trading of emission reductions from 2020.

Under the cooperation, Norway will have no additional demand for UN-backed offsets beyond its 2020 requirement unless it deepens its 40% target.

“In the event that there is no agreement on a collective delivery with the EU, Norway will fulfil the commitment individually. The ambition level will remain the same in this event,” the Norwegian submission said.

The statement said:

• Norwegian emissions are covered by the EU ETS, and Norway will through our participation in the ETS contribute to the necessary emission reductions. The EU ETS ensures that no double counting occurs.
• In meeting the emission reduction target in the non-ETS sectors, Norway assumes access to flexibility in implementation in line with what EU member states have. This includes flexibility among EU member states. Regarding the non-ETS sectors, Norway’s assumption is that an agreement between Norway and the EU on collective delivery will ensure that no double counting occurs.
• In this situation, there will be no use of international market credits towards the target. Norway does, however, support inclusion of market based mechanisms in the 2015 agreement, and the opportunity to continue using units accruing from the CDM and JI.

Norway is the third party to submit its INDC to the UN, following Switzerland and the EU.

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