The principal aim of the OECD Environmental Performance Review programme is to help member and selected partner countries improve their individual and collective performance in environmental management by:
helping countries assess progress in achieving their environmental goals
promoting continuous policy dialogue and peer learning
stimulating greater accountability from governments towards each other and public opinion.
This report reviews the environmental performance of Norway since the previous review in 2011. Progress in achieving domestic objectives and international commitments provides the basis for assessing the country’s environmental performance. Such objectives and commitments may be broad aims, qualitative goals or quantitative targets. A distinction is made between intentions, actions and results. Assessment of environmental performance is also placed within the context of Norway’s historical environmental record, present state of the environment, physical endowment in natural resources, economic conditions and demographic trends.
The OECD is indebted to Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment for its co‑operation in providing information, for the organisation of the virtual review mission (20-24 September 2021) and policy mission (7 December 2021) as well as for facilitating contacts inside and outside government institutions. Thanks are also due to all government ministries and agencies, as well as to the non-government organisations, that participated in the virtual missions and/or provided information and comments. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the review was conducted remotely engaging close to 150 stakeholders.
The OECD is grateful to the representatives of the two examining countries: Veli Auvinen and Kaarle Kupiainen (Finland), and Megan Barnhart, Daniel Gogal, Chris Hartley, Eva Kreisler, Karen Maguire, Hope Bigda-Peyton, Steve Wolfson and Lia Yohannes (United States).
The authors of this report are Julia Wanjiru Nikiema (Chapter 1, OECD Environment Directorate) and Roger Martini (Chapter 2, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate). The review process was co-ordinated by Julia Wanjiru Nikiema. Ivana Capozza and Nathalie Girouard provided oversight. Valuable inputs were provided by Ivana Capozza, Eugene Mazur and Nils Axel Braathen. Carla Bertuzzi provided statistical support and research assistance; Fiona Smyth and Annette Hardcastle provided administrative support and Mark Foss copy-edited the report. Natasha Cline-Thomas provided communications support. Preparation of this report also benefited from inputs and comments from Enrico Botta, Ben Conigrave, Lara Fleischer, Gregoire Garsous, Guillaume Gruère, Håvard Halland, Philip Hemmings, Katia Karousakis, Krzysztof Michalak, Sarah Miet, Mark Mateo, Daniel Nachtigall, Edward Perry, Anasuya Raj, Jonas Teusch, Konstantinos Theodoropoulos, Kurt van Dender and Frédérique Zegel of the OECD Secretariat.
The OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance discussed the draft Environmental Performance Review of Norway at its meeting on 16 February 2022 and approved the Assessment and Recommendations.