Is Norway the New East-India-Company?

Leaving aside how ludicrous the comparison is to the East India Company (Norway isn't invading other countries to force them to consume oil, for instance), the author ignores or doesn't know that the oil profits are used to fund the country's sovereign wealth fund, which is one of the key ways that Norway grows its pension system-- it uses petroleum profits to invest internationally. In the long run then, reducing Norway's sales of petroleum increases their reliance on the global stock market, because they no longer have a backstop against a market downturn. It's even possible that halting Norwegian petrol production would cause that very market downturn! In addition, the need to support the petroleum industry encourages the development of other technical industries which also can bring in money.

Norway is not the EIC because they didn't enslave massive swaths of humans and start a war to sell oil, but Norway doesn't exactly have the moral high ground in the fight against climate change either.

one thing I agree is that to tackle climate change - rich countries must first start with themselves and reduce carbon emissions per capita.<p>I see climate activists bash developing countries with large population for carbon emissions, yet when you account for per capita carbon output - turns out that carbon&#x2F;capita of rich countries far exceeds that of developing&#x2F;poor countries

It&#x27;s not really worth bothering trying to convince any one country to reduce their oil production. The Saudis, Russians or Venezuelans could easily fill the supply gap, and the point is moot. Arguing for a worldwide reduction in supply is equally moot, not to mention politically hopeless.<p>The best way is demand reduction, which won&#x27;t happen overnight. Technology exchange and helping developing countries to build renewable energy and nuclear power plants seems to be, outside of geoengineering, the only viable way forward.

No. This reads to me like oil envy.

One important difference is that opium addiction in China hurt the addicts in China (and indirectly everyone else in China). Fossil fuel addiction through climate change hurts everyone.<p>The merchants of the EIC stayed away from using opium themselves because being an opium addict is plainly pretty bad for you. Being a fossil fuel addict, though, can be very pleasant - ski trips to the Alps every month, fast cars, fresh produce flown in out of season etc. The costs will be carried mostly by other people.

&gt; Moreover, the government has recently decided to expand exploration and production of gas and oil in one of the areas that the very same government acknowledges are most sensitive to climate change—the Arctic Circle.<p>Does anyone have sources for this?

Strange to paint the East India Company as evil while simultaneously admitting it&#x27;s the only reason that Hong Kong was ever liberated.