When climate policy meets foreign policy: Pioneering and national interest in Norway's mitigation strategy

This paper compares Norway's strategies to promote carbon sequestration based climate change mitigation measures Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). It aims to explain what makes Norway such a strong promoter of the two by focusing on the conceptual characteristics of CCS and REDD+. Treating Norway mitigation action portfolio as foreign policy, a two-level analytical framework is presented to this end. The analysis shows how initially unlikely ideas may be turned into lasting climate strategies when they contribute to bridge a state's national energy interests and international climate obligations. The paper adds to the empirical study of states' climate political behavior within the boundaries of a prevailing energy political paradigm. This topic is particularly timely in a post-Paris setting where states are to provide new mitigation strategies that are compatible with other national interests.