Norway are banning all fossil fuel cars within the next 10 years in an effort to become one of the most ecologically progressive nations in the world.
Politicians in Norway have vowed to eradicate all petrol cars by the year 2025 in order to reach the ambitious goal of having every single car run on green energy.
Independent.co.uk reports:
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According to Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv, “FRP will remove all gasoline cars”, a headline which makes reference to the populist right-wing Framstegspartiet, or Progress Party.
Yet there is some denial from other right-wing representatives that the move has been confirmed.
If passed, it would be particularly significant because a large proportion of Norway’s funds rely on the country’s petroleum industry.
The report also follows the announcement that Norway will become the first country in the world to commit to zero deforestation.
Speaking about the possible 2025 ban on non-electric cars, Elon Musk, chief executive of US electric car company Tesla Motors, lauded the announcement.
“Just heard that Norway will ban new sales of fuel cars in 2025,” he wrote.
“What an amazingly awesome country. You guys rock!!”.
Just heard that Norway will ban new sales of fuel cars in 2025. What an amazingly awesome country. You guys rock!! pic.twitter.com/uAXuBkDYuR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2016
Yet while the Democratic Party and the Liberal Party have corroborated Dagens Naeringsliv’s report, the FRP have said the move is still being looked at, according to Aftenposten.
If the measure is fully confirmed, it would be more ambitious than the Labour Party’s proposal that no new diesel or petrol cars should be sold by 2030.
The four parties, who rule together through a system of proportional representation, have also agreed a new climate tax on electricity.
About 24 per cent of the country’s cars already run on electricity, and it is a heavy producer of renewable energy with more than 99 per cent of electricity covered by hydropower.
Norway also aims to triple its capacity of wind power by 2020, with a new $3bn investment in the sector approved in 2013.
Meanwhile critics in the UK have accused the Conservative Government of reneging on its commitment to green energy and looking for solutions in fracking and nuclear energy instead.
This follows a 25 per cent rise in renewable energy investments pouring into the UK last year, according to a global paper on the topic.
