Norway Approves Emissions Reduction Requirements for Offshore Vessels
Norway has introduced a new set of requirements mandating offshore vessels to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from 2029. The rules target operators of offshore vessels operating on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The Norwegian government has been developing these requirements since 2021, as part of the country’s climate agreement with the EU. Norway is part of the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation, committing to a set of emissions reduction targets over a period of years through to 2050.
Norway has said that the shipping sector accounts for eight percent of the country’s emissions. In addition, more than 16 percent of its emissions under the effort sharing agreement with the EU, offshore vessels account for the largest share. The Minister for Climate and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, said that the new rules for the offshore vessels will provide significant emission cuts. Further, the rules will drive new technology and strengthen Norway’s leading role in green shipping.
As per the rules, operators will be required to reduce greenhouse gas intensity of their vessels by 10 percent in the period 2029-2031. This will be stepped up to a 40 percent reduction in the period 2038-2040. Overall, the regulation is expected to provide a total emission reduction of approximately 1.6 million tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). However, these rules are exempt for an offshore vessel operating in the Norwegian shelf for less than 30 days.
The government added that the requirements will spur demand for alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. There are Norwegian offshore vessel owners already switching to low or zero-emission fuels. The Norwegian company Eidesvik is in the process of converting its offshore vessel Viking Energy to use ammonia fuel. Upon completion of the retrofit in Autumn, Viking Energy will be the first offshore vessel to be able to operate on ammonia.
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Notably, the Norwegian government said that compliance with the new rules will not be met using biofuels. But the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association has protested this exemption as well as several other requirements. The Association said that biofuels are currently one of the few available measures to provide rapid emission reductions in the existing fleet. Therefore, when such solutions are removed, shipowners will be pressured to switch to more expensive and less accessible alternatives, said Knut Arild Hareide, CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association.
“The government is introducing costly, uniquely Norwegian regulations despite great opposition from a united industry. This is happening in direct contradiction to clear signals that the framework conditions on the Norwegian shelf should remain fixed. This unpredictability is impossible for the business community,” added Hareide.