A/HRC/43/53/Add.2 covered by both the European Union Emissions Trading System and the carbon tax. While the carbon tax represents an acknowledged good practice, it has not prevented Norwegian emissions from continuing to rise. Electricity 37. Norway has a large hydroelectric system and a growing number of wind farms, resulting in an electricity system that is 98 per cent emissions free. There is a coal-fired power plant on the island of Svalbard, and some industries burn small amounts of fossil fuels for their own facilities. 38. Because electricity in Norway is relatively green, plentiful and inexpensive, consumption levels are very high, approaching 30,000 kilowatt-hours per household annually. While this is partially due to the use of electricity for heating, this is the second highest per capita electricity use in the world (after Iceland). 20 The Government has taken the commendable step of banning the use of fossil fuels for heating buildings as of 1 January 2020. For years, programmes and subsidies have anticipated this change, encouraging homeowners and businesses to switch to clean electricity and district energy systems. Transportation 39. Norway is leading the global transition to zero-emission transportation. No other country has such a high level of electric vehicle sales, currently approaching half of new passenger vehicle sales. Electric vehicles now comprise almost 10 per cent of all registered passenger vehicles in Norway. A national ambition (not legislated) is for all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission vehicles by 2025. Public policies responsible for the high level of electric vehicle sales in Norway include tax incentives and user advantages. Electric vehicles are exempt from the value added tax, registration fees and road tolls. Electric vehicle drivers can access free parking, free charging stations and bus lanes. There is a large electric vehicle charging network (over 2,500 charging stations with over 12,000 charging points) that was publicly financed but is now attracting private investment. 40. Norway is also a pioneer in deploying electric ferries, with three fully electric ferries in operation and plans for more to be added in the near term. Approximately 80 per cent of railways are powered by electricity. As a shipping industry leader, Norway has ambitions to reduce emissions from domestic and international shipping. 41. Biofuels are blended into petrol and diesel for road vehicles, at a rate of 12 per cent, rising to 20 per cent in 2020. Norway follows European Union guidance on sustainable biofuels, and acknowledges that there are ongoing challenges related to preventing negative land use changes (where biofuel crops replace food crops or natural forests). 42. Despite these efforts, it will be challenging for Norway to reach its goal of reducing transport emissions by 50 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. The population continues to grow, car ownership continues to increase, and Norwegians hold on to their vehicles for a long time, meaning it will take years for existing passenger vehicle stock to be replaced by zero-emission vehicles. Furthermore, governments continue to invest in expanding and upgrading roads, indirectly encouraging travel by means of private motor vehicles. Carbon capture and storage 43. The recent special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the changes needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C highlights the importance of carbon capture and storage as a complement to other means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Norway pioneered the use of carbon capture and storage in 1996 with the Sleipner project, in which carbon dioxide from offshore natural gas development was pumped into a deep saline reservoir beneath the ocean floor. By the time the project ended, in 2016, 20 World Bank, “Electric power consumption (Kwh per capita)”. Available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.USE.ELEC.KH.PC. 9