Equinor is the Norwegian people’s oil company. Norwegian citizens currently own 67 percent of the shares,
slightly more than 70 percent including the National Insurance Fund’s shares. Our interests are to be protected
by the Norwegian government and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. To me, as a shareholder and
citizen, it seems like it is the interests of the oil industry that are being protected, not the citizens and future
generations.
The Grandparents’ Climate Action has therefore been involved through third-party intervention for Natur og
Ungdom (Nature and Youth) and Greenpeace, who have sued the Norwegian State for violation of Article 112
of the Norwegian Constitution on the Right to the Environment by allocating exploration licences in the Arctic
Sea. Our Earth is being struck by ever more serious climate-related disasters. Also, the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change makes it clear that our dependency on fossil energy sources has caused a deadly global
warming that is gradually growing worse, and that we are now facing both a climate crisis and a natural crisis.
The Supreme Court’s judgement of 22 December 2020 did not sustain the plaintiffs’ claim. The Grandparents’
Climate Action has therefore decided to appeal the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
There is now a rapid development of new renewable energy sources. Equinor currently has the economic
muscles to become a leader in this development, while phasing out fossil energy production. This will help
create many new industrial jobs that Norway needs, both at Equinor and in the supply industry.
Rather than stepping down the activity on the Norwegian continental shelf, Equinor is planning to electrify
parts of the Norwegian oil production to reduce domestic climate emissions in compliance with the Paris
Agreement. Equinor should help reduce emissions by stepping down the oil and exploration activity rather
than using valuable renewable energy to reduce the emissions. The largest emissions are generated during
the combustion of Norwegian oil and gas abroad. When also other countries are reducing their emissions, we
are not guaranteed to find an economically profitable market for our oil and gas.
The Grandparents’ Climate Action reacts strongly to Equinor’s projects overseas. Overall, the company
has not made any money on the hundreds of billions worth of Norwegian citizens’ assets it has invested
abroad. The investments in tar sand in Alberta, Canada, caused huge pollution problems for the indigenous
population and strongly affected their health and natural environment. In 2019 Equinor lost NOK 200 billion
on investments in shale oil and gas in the US. Norway cannot accept being responsible for the huge pollution
problems and the global warming these projects cause in other countries.
In the past year we have experienced a global pandemic caused by the new coronavirus. It will still take time
before vaccination has been rolled out and there is immunity against the virus in the population. The result is a
dramatic reduction of air traffic and other travelling.
This may contribute to a long-term reduction in the demand for fossil energy. Equinor should therefore present
a phase-out plan for rapid termination of oil and gas production and aim to become a leading company in the
development of new, renewable energy.