By Anne Lene Dale, CEO, GCE NODE
I am extremely proud to be working in an industry, which beyond any other industries, has transformed Norwegian society and shaped what is continuously celebrated as the “best country to live in”.
The green shift is here. During my visits to NODE companies, I have been impressed by all the efforts to reduce emissions through developing and utilizing new technology and new materials both within oil and gas and for new markets. We explore new markets with an understanding that our technology can be of use in areas such as floating offshore wind, floating offshore solar, carbon capture and storage, as well as in the production of blue hydrogen. And surely things we have not yet thought of!
Technology alone will not save the world. A green shift will only be possible when politics, nature given conditions as well as science and technology act together in a positive way. In what ways do we contribute?
The political debate is important for NODE companies and the region in which they operate, and it is important that our points-of-view and assessments are heard and noted. Climate change and the urgent need to reduce emissions and eliminate the sources of climate change are now dominating the political debate in Norway, the European Union as well as globally. Some want to stop oil and gas production immediately. Some people in NODE companies have told me that they feel accused of denying climate change, simply because they work in the supplier industry.
I have yet to find anyone in any NODE company who does not acknowledge the urgency of the matter of climate change. On the contrary, at our Top Leader Forum in November, climate was voted the second most important issue for NODE companies to work on (after digitalization as the most important).
In mid-January, NODE invites all cluster participants to help form a new strategy for the next five years. Climate as well as many other topics are on the agenda – including how we best can work together to address opportunities and challenges of common interest. Karl Eirik Schjøtt Pedersen (CEO of The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association) has agreed to join us in a discussion on the supplier industry’s role in the green shift. I look very much forward to the January strategy meeting that will determine how NODE companies best can contribute.