Future prosperity Petrostate with a clean, green image

Asit rapidly adopts clean technologies while drilling furiously for oil and gas, the Nordic nation is a paradox

- Ajit Niranjan

The average Norwegian is more likely than anyone else to drive to work in an electric car and warm their home with a heat pump. When they turn on the kettle in the morning or charge their phone at night, Norwegians plug into an electricity grid that runs almost entirely on renewables. Their politicians politely pressure other countries to protect the environment, too. But on one metric, Norway's leafy green image darkens to an oily black. The rich Nordic nation digs up more petroleum per person than Russia, Iran, North America and Saudi Arabia.

"Norway claims to be a climate leader, but in reality it is a climate hypocrite," said Frode Pleym, head of the Norwegian branch of the campaign group Greenpeace. "If Norway were an advertising agency, they would indeed be deemed to be very successful."

Famed for its fjords and forests, Europe's northernmost country is the closest the world has to what could be called a green petrostate. Its 5.5 million inhabitants are adopting clean technologies faster than anyone else - while its political and industry leaders drill for fossil fuels to sell to Europe.