Norway invests $18B in fossil fuel after Canada's Trudeau asked country to accept green challenge

Norway announced an $18 billion investment in oil and natural gas projects just two days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the country's prime minister and invited him to join Canada's climate change initiative.

A readout from Trudeau's office June 26, upon the conclusion of the prime minister's visit to Iceland in which he met with leaders of Nordic countries including Norway, states: "Canada and the Nordic leaders committed to continue to work together to advance global climate action. ... They agreed that pollution pricing is a very efficient way to do just that."

The readout also referred to the Canada-led effort – the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge –  to get countries worldwide to adopt carbon pricing to significantly reduce carbon emissions by 2030 

Carbon pricing is a policy tool to lower greenhouse gas emissions by charging people and businesses for how much greenhouse gas they emit.

Trudeau's June pitch appeared to have failed, considering Norway's energy ministry on June 28 approved $18.51 billion worth of oil and gas projects, 19 in total.

Two environmental groups – the Nordic branch of Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom – are reportedly suing the country over it, arguing the country has violated its human rights commitments and constitution by planning the new oil and gas projects.

"Once again, Norway is showing its climate hypocrisy," says the group Oil Change International. "As wildfires are raging in Canada and heatwaves are taking lives in India, Norway approves 19 new oil and gas field developments."

Global warming, or climate change, appears to be a contributing factor.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the average atmospheric temperature is rising worldwide. But how much humans and the use of fossil fuel has contributed remains a matter of debate.

The fires this spring and summer in Canada are the result of an exceptionally warm spring and the country's wildfire management program being underfunded and were likely sparked by lightning, according to most experts. 

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