A report from Nature and Youth states that oil- and gas extraction in the Barents Sea will cause huge climate gas emissions and prevent us from reaching the climate goal. Norway’s goal is to reduce 40 % of Norwegian emissions by 2030. In May 2016 the Norwegian government  gave permissions to look for oil and gas in untouched parts of the Barents Sea. If everything of the Barents Seas’ oil and gas is extracted and burnt, this will result in emissions of 4142 million ton CO2, which is almost 80 times more than Norway’s emissions per year. You probably think it is strange how the government work to reach the climate goal, but at the same time gives these kinds of permissions. Well, it absolutely is strange. Nature and Youth emphasizes the importance of letting oil and gas resources remain in the ground, since this will prevent huge amounts of climate gas emissions. They further recommend that the government don’t give these permissions, and let the Barents Sea stay untouched.

This map shows the location of the Barents Sea relative to Norway, with the sea outside the very North of the land Norway, and South-East of Svalbard. Source: https://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/barentssea.htm