Norway is an oil producing nation. Large reserves off the Atlantic coast produced nearly 95 million metric tons of oil last year. Petroleum products account for 52% of the country's exports. But Norway is also leading in a green category: electric vehicles. For the first time electric cars now outnumber gasoline powered ones. According to the Norwegian road federation electric powered cars number 754,303 versus 753,905 run on gas. The government's goal is for all new sales of cars to be zero emission by 2025, ten years ahead of its original target,. Norway offers buyers generous tax rebates to buy green cars, making them competitive with conventional vehicles. The rest of Europe is lagging behind Norway with just 12.5% if new cars sold are electric.
The other factor influencing the switch to electric is tax policy. Norway has taxed new cars heavily with 25%VAT and excise taxes based emission levels. Under pressure from advocates the government began offering tax rebates on EVs to encourage consumers early adoption of the technology the 90's. Norway's electricity production is almost all green too, with 10% coming from wind energy. Reliance on efficient heat pumps for residential heating has resulted in a strong, up-to-date national grid that can handle large scale electrification. Stavanger, the third city and center of petroleum production, introduced electric buses in 1994. When the fleet is renewed, all of Stravanger's 200 buses will be electric, It already has an electric passenger ferry. Green Kudos to Norway!