Unlike Big Oil, Norwegian investment is progressive

 I would not have known about Yara, an Oslo-headquartered company with a global reach, if it had not been for a segment on a recent BBC News bulletin.

Our company was founded in 1905 as a solution for the European famine that swept over the continent in the early part of the 20th century.  Since then, we have continuously developed solutions that improve and increase global food production in a sustainable way.  Through this expertise, we have also managed to create additional environmental solutions that reduce harmful emissions.

Global challenges are real and will not vanish on their own. Climate change is affecting our way of life. The world’s population continues to increase. We have more mouths to feed, limited land to farm and less resources to draw upon.

At Yara, we believe in meeting these challenges head on. There is no trade-off between building a profitable business and solving global challenges. But both companies and governments must do their part. Together we make a difference, and our mission, vision and values embody Yara’s spirit and DNA.

The report by BBC's climate editor recorded a voyage by an innovative container vessel, the Yara Birkeland. Not only is this vessel independent of fossil fuels (the electricity she requires comes from non-carbon sources), but she will eventually not require a captain or crew.

My younger daughter, a resident, had already alerted me to wholly electric-powered ferries operating out of Norway such as this one, and I have already mentioned hybrid cruise ships on this blog. It seems to me that the nation has used her North Sea bonanza to progressive effect. There is a glaring contrast with Exxon, a huge oil major which, even before its merger with Mobil, was one of the five largest companies in the world. The company's own scientists were telling it in the 1970s that fossil-fuel driven global warming was a reality. Exxon could have started making the transition to renewable resources by declaring itself to be a total energy company, as BP was to do. Instead, it did the opposite: denied its own research, and funded - generally opaquely - climate change deniers. It is hard to estimate how much Exxon's influence set back the cause of recovery from global warming.