On the 25th anniversary of becoming the first country in the world to establish a Ministry of Environment, Norway is today recognised as a major force in international environmental co-operation.
'Since the outset of the environmental movement, Norway and the other Nordic countries have been initiators and driving forces in international environmental policy,' said Tone Bratteli, an adviser at the Ministry of Environment.
'Norway's policies, principles and concepts have developed into a kind of theme song at international negotiating tables in recent years.' Norway was one of the first nations to respond to threats to the world's ozone layer - with chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in spray cans replaced by harmless aerosols 10 years before such requirements were embodied in international agreements.
The Norwegians also led efforts towards a global-climate convention in response to the 'greenhouse effect' and the country remains one of the few that has introduced a carbon dioxide tax.
Another initiative was the 'cradle to the grave' principle of waste disposal.
'Norwegian environmental policy demands the monitoring of manufactured products from production until they are discarded,' Mr Bratteli said.
