Every day there are 44 flights between Oslo and Trondheim – NRK – Klima.

In total, there were 222,622 domestic flights in Norway last year, according to new figures from Avinor.

According to Eurostat, Oslo-Trondheim and Oslo-Bergen were respectively the fourth and fifth busiest air routes across Europe.

It’s a well-known fact that Norwegians fly a lot, and in 2019 a team of researchers from NTNU got together. A detailed look at emissions from Norwegian aviation.

One of the findings is that the Oslo-Trondheim route alone accounts for 11 percent of all CO₂ emissions from domestic aviation in Norway.

Most emissions are between large cities

The researchers created a model that shows what kind of emissions we got from each plane that flew in Norway.

The route with the highest emissions is Oslo-Boto, accounting for 12 percent of emissions from domestic aviation. All five of the most emitting routes go to Oslo Airport.

– City traffic was very bad. The largest emissions are observed on routes such as Oslo-Trondheim and Oslo-Bergen. Together these account for 20 percent of domestic emissions, says climate scientist Helen Murry.

SAS and Norwegian NRK would not comment on how fully private routes are, out of competitive considerations.

– We didn’t look at whether the planes were full or not, we looked at the seating capacity. But having taken some of those flights yourself, Muri says, experience can be tricky.

More confusion

According to Murry’s research, total aviation emissions per Norwegian are roughly twice those of Sweden, Germany and France combined in terms of CO₂. This includes domestic and international flights.

Muri explains that the reasons why Norwegians fly so much are complex.

In many places in Europe, train service is cheaper and faster than in Norway.

In a long country with many fjords and mountains, some flights are inevitable, especially on a short-haul network.

– For example, Oslo-Tromsø is not easy to find alternative transport routes, Muri says.

But that doesn’t apply to all “bad roads”.

– The average Norwegian travels often enough to take a weekend trip and take these unnecessary flights. Trains are very expensive in Norway, so you understand that when flying is cheaper and faster, people choose it, Muri says.

Choose a train to Trondheim

According to Statistics Norway, domestic flights account for 2 percent of Norway’s emissions. When they measure up Emissions from journeys in different modes of transportAirplanes emerge as the least climate-friendly means of transporting passengers, while trains are at the other end of the scale.

Frida Myklebust Amdahl (22) always chooses to take the train if possible. Take out the calculator to calculate how many times Dovrebanen has taken between Trondheim and Oslo.

– 56, I brought!

He made his first trip at the age of 15, for climatic reasons. She begged her mother to take the train to a nature and youth meeting in Oslo.

Then she falls head over heels for the train to avoid flying and travel. There is a separate note on the phone entitled “Different experiences on Dovrebanen”.

– Once a dance troupe offered to dance in a cafe cart. Another time in a cart full of dogs to a fair, she smiled.

But Frida’s love story is even rarer. According to Avinor, there are 22 flights to Oslo-Trondheim every day.

Frida is committed to the climate and is keen to reduce her own emissions. She calls for cheap, frequent and fast train departures, so it’s not particularly interesting.

At the same time, he encourages people to see the possibilities of existing trains today. No need to go back and forth to airports, go through security checks and wait for luggage.

– This is an opportunity to work. A chance to relax. A chance to do something good for the climate while sitting with your eyes closed, he adds.

Finding alternatives is not easy

The aviation industry itself can reduce pollution with the help of technology. Aviner highlights electric aircraft, high-efficiency aircraft and low-emission fuel. The government is also pointing to CO2 taxes.

Muri at NTNU acknowledges that there are geographical challenges in the development of railways in Norway, but otherwise believes that it should not be too difficult.

– The time it takes to travel by train between cities in Norway has actually increased. It takes longer now than it used to. It’s a bit too significant and takes things in a wrong direction, he says.

– Increased capacity, increased speed and availability of fixed broadband on trains are measures to help shift traffic from the air to the rail network.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications did not have an opportunity to respond to NRK’s ​​questions about the case.

France has banned some short-haul flights

France is now set to ban three popular flights from Orly airport in Paris in an effort to reduce the country’s CO2 emissions.₂– Emissions.

Before Christmas, the European Commission gave France the green light to ban domestic flights between Orly and the cities of Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon, writes website Electrek.

France has proposed banning commercial short-haul flights in the country in 2021, but the union is dependent on EU approval as a result of substantial opposition to the UAF’s proposal, NTB writes. The law also places restrictions on the use of private aircraft.