The recent study conducted by the Oxford University scientists showed that Great Britain and Norway use hydrocarbons most efficiently. The results were published in the Energy Policy magazine and released on the University official website on August 22. Joerg Friedrichs and Oliver Inderwildi compared countries’ GDP per capita with carbon dioxide emissions accompanied by dirty fuels usage such as oil, gas, and coal. The research was based on the data from 41 countries.
The study discovered that Norway and the United Kingdom are the thriftiest among the fuel-rich countries. In 2008, the UK emitted 0.22 kg of greenhouse gases per dollar of GDP. As for Norway, it was only 0.19 kg.
The scientists noted that investing to new technologies development was one of the main drivers towards the energy-efficient economy of Great Britain. Norway managed to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions due to the low fuel taxes and environmental awareness of the population.
However, the authors warned that these two counties will head the list for rather short period of time. The reason of it is quite obvious. British oil and gas fields in the North Sea are getting depleted, so it may force the UK to increase the energy imports. Norway, in its turn, reached its limit of energy efficiency maintaining the current economic structure. Last autumn, it was said that Oslo was planning to double the oil companies’ levies for the greenhouse gases emissions, from £21 to £45 per ton of carbon dioxide.
The report also notes that fuel-rich countries do not tend to economize. The most wasteful countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, and South Africa.
The major Norwegian and British fields are situated in the North Sea. Extensive exploration was carried out in 1970s, while its peak was recorded in 1999, when the volume constituted 2.7 million barrels a day. Great Britain’s crude oil inventories amount to 3.1 billion barrels, while Norway’s was 5.32 billion in 2012.