Knowledge regarding climate change and green competitiveness

- Research and knowledge is crucial if Norway is to reach its climate goals and develop new green jobs. That is why we are increasing our focus on research and innovation, says Minister of Climate and Environment, Vidar Helgesen.

In the 2018 budget, the government proposes to strengthen research on low emissions and green competitiveness by NOK 20 million, through the budget of the Ministry of Climate and Environment.

The government earlier this year launched a new priority on research for low emissions with an annual framework of NOK 71.5 million. The effort will help towards finding new solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Norway and towards meeting the Norwegian climate targets by 2030. With an increase of NOK 20 million, a grand total of NOK 91.5 million will be reached in 2018.

- This will be a spearhead in the Research Council's work on low-emission research. The goal is that new products and services within environmentally friendly energy technology will be developed and put into use faster. This can contribute to emission cuts both in Norway and internationally, says Vidar Helgesen.

The initiative is based on the Research Council's existing efforts, including the ENERGIX and BIONÆR programs.

Part of the funds will be channelled through the Pilot-E project. Pilot-E is a financing offer for Norwegian business, established by the Research Council, Innovation Norway and Enova. Pilot-E follows the actors closely throughout the technology development cycle - from idea to market. In 2017, land-based freight transport has been a particularly prioritized theme for this initiative, and has been followed up through a separate announcement under the Pilot-E scheme.