Nordic sustainability briefing: Norwegian energy and reuse, a faster-warming study, and COP17 opens
Norway's energy-support threshold and a major steel-reuse grant headline today's briefing, alongside a study warning of faster-than-expected warming and the opening of COP17's biodiversity review in Yerevan. Separately, the Swedish Energy Agency is inviting SMEs to join a German trade fair pavilion and a cleantech market-entry programme.
Norway's budget leak would raise the Norgespris threshold; businesses remain outside the scheme
NRK reports a budget leak saying the government wants to raise the Norgespris entry point from 40 to 45 øre per kWh (50 to 56 øre with VAT), which would make the scheme dearer for consumers. NRK notes that businesses are not covered by Norgespris and must pay market price or sign fixed-price contracts, and that the proposal may meet resistance in budget talks.
Enova backs ship-steel reuse in construction with NOK 244 million, its largest circular-economy grant
NRK reports that Enova is giving 244 million kroner to Nordic Circles, which plans to use AI and new dismantling methods to reuse steel from old ships in buildings. Enova calls it the largest circular project it has funded. The founders say they could cut emissions in new buildings by 25%.
Study argues the global warming rate has doubled, pointing to a 1.5°C breach by 2028
A paper in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science finds the warming rate was 0.40°C per decade in 2011–2025, against 0.20°C per decade over 1971–2025. Extrapolating that rate puts the 1.5°C crossing around 2028, nearly a decade earlier than prior estimates. The authors also note that the mean of 26 climate models does not capture the doubling. It is a single study based on extrapolation.
As COP17 opens on 19 October, 58% of countries have filed updated nature plans
Carbon Brief's analysis finds 113 countries have now submitted new national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), up from 55 a year ago. COP17 in Yerevan runs 19–30 October and will host the first global review of progress on the Kunming-Montreal framework. UNEP's State of Biodiversity report says some progress is being made towards the framework's 23 targets, but that faster action and finance are needed.
Swedish Energy Agency invites SMEs to an E-world pavilion and opens a German cleantech programme
The Swedish Energy Agency is organising an energy pavilion at the E-world trade fair in Essen on 16–18 February 2027. Swedish SMEs with innovative energy solutions can register interest by 1 November 2026. Applications to the Swedish-German Cleantech Platform 2027, a programme for SMEs entering the German market, opened on 2 October.