Buy a hybrid car or else! Norway proposes ban on gas cars

The Minister of Finance in Norway, Kristin Halvorsen, has proposed a ban that would render the sale of gasoline cars illegal in 2015. Any vehicle sold in the country after that point would need to utilize at least one additional form of energy in tandem with fossil fuels or avoid them completely.

Halvorsen’s socialist left political party is one of three parties that govern Norway and her proposal has some high profile opponents in the country including Labor Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. This sort of government intervention certainly would have the ability to enforce a quick transition to new hybrid technologies, but at what cost to an already stricken economy that’s dependent on oil exports?

“Norway is the world's number six oil exporter,” according to Reuters, which means that this sort of movement has to potential to directly affect the country’s bottom line. Especially if other countries feel inspired to follow suit. Halvorsen claims that’s why Norway needs to go there first, so it’s ready for the shift in the global energy market. She says:

. . . we know that the world will be dependent on oil and gas for many decades ahead but we have to introduce new technologies and this is a proposal to support that.

She also points out that initial perceptions of the ban were draconian and inaccurate because it wouldn’t affect cars already on the road, and wouldn’t go into effect until 2015. This sort of government participation is familiar in the United States right now as well, with a huge stimulus package rolling out and clear demands being made of General Motors and others.

Halvorsen has an uphill battle, especially with so much of Norway’s economy driven by oil exports. Of course, her true goal may have been to simply draw attention to herself and her country, portraying both as green enthusiasts.