The foreign policy of carbon sinks: Carbon capture and storage as foreign policy in Norway

Abstract

Abstract Norway is among a handful of countries with an explicit policy to promote carbon capture and storage (CCS) at both national and international levels. This paper investigates the internal and external driving forces behind Norway's efforts to advance CCS as a global climate change mitigation option. The ambition is twofold: First, a mapping of Norway's public CCS policy with emphasis on the externally directed efforts is offered based on interviews and document studies. Second, it is explained how CCS foreign policy was chosen as a prioritized means of climate change mitigation policy in Norway. The study is conducted with the application of Foreign Policy Analysis. From the outside-in perspective, the international climate regime is emphasized. From the inside-out perspective, bureaucratic politics is in focus. It is found that the winning coalition behind the domestic CCS agenda also directed CCS foreign policy design and implementation. The CCS foreign policy offers a means to fulfil Norway's regime obligations on terms that harmonize the potential conflict of maintaining a political economy reliant on petroleum exports with a credible climate change mitigation policy. It is shown how technology R&D for global use has been a key ingredient in this context. It is also explored how the CCS foreign policy was materialized with the means of official development assistance and other funding mechanisms.