Norway’s strategy for sustainable development: balancing between economic growth and environmental protection in the arctic

The bachelor thesis is titled "Norway’s Strategy for Sustainable Development: Balancing between Economic Growth and Environmental Protection in the Arctic“. The object of this study is Norway’s strategy for sustainable development in the Arctic. Ongoing climate change created ambiguous situation: on the one hand, the glaciers are melting and the sea level is growing, but on the other hand, the same melting glaciers boost the economic potential of the North. In this context, the relevance of Norway is increasing, because Norwegian Government now is pursuing two opposite goals. First of all, it seeks further economic development by extracting Arctic oil and natural gas resources. Second of all, it seeks Arctic environmental preservation by adopting tighter climate policy. This brings up the question whether the balance between economic development and environmental preservation in the North is possible or not. Due to this problem, the study of this thesis is based on Norway’s strategy for sustainable development and seeks to find out how this country succeeds in implementing two inconsistent aspirations by seeking environmental sustainability and Arctic natural resources extraction at the same time. The aim of this thesis is to answer the question "what kind of sustainable development in the Arctic is carried out by Norway and why?" The study consists of three structural parts. The first part of this study provides theoretical background of different environmental policy theories and the theory of sustainable development. Different theorists argue that state‘s climate policy can be influenced by four main variables: 1) international cooperation, 2) the country's economic situation, 3) participation in international trade, 4) technological progress. The research is carried out in the second and third part of this paper. In order to answer the main question, author of this thesis uses case study as a research method. The first part of research analyzes Norway’s strategy for sustainable development in Arctic. The main aim is to comprehend how this country encourages development of the energy sector, in particular the extraction of natural resources in the Artic, and how it seeks environmental sustainability by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the second part of this research focuses on the reasons behind discussed Norway’s strategy for sustainable development in Arctic. The analysis examines what impacted discussed Norway’s strategy for sustainable development: involvement in international organizations, the country's economic situation, involvement in international trade or technological progress. Several conclusions could be made. Firstly, in some aspects, Norway’s Arctic policy can be attributed to "weak" sustainability paradigm, while other factors attribute Norway’s Arctic policy to "strong" sustainability paradigm. "Weak" sustainability is illustrated by the fact that economic development, based on the extraction of natural resources, continues to be Norway’s priority. However, Norway is also pursuing “strong” environmental sustainability through the development of the renewable energy industry, the promotion of carbon capture and storage technologies, and by participation in the European Union's emissions trading system. In addition to that, this study found that participation in international organizations and international cooperation has a weak impact to Norway’s sustainable development strategy in the Arctic. While, Norway's strong and stable economic situation, international trade and technological advancement have a strong influence to its policy of sustainable development