Leadership Quote by Jens Stoltenberg

Norway’s petrostatesmanship has always been performed with impeccable manners: drill efficiently, bank the proceeds, and speak fluent sustainability. Stoltenberg’s line sits squarely in that national tradition, acknowledging oil and gas as the engine of prosperity while carefully repositioning them as the prologue, not the plot. The phrasing does two jobs at once. “Have been important drivers” sounds like gratitude, but it also tucks fossil fuels safely into the past tense, a rhetorical distancing that lets Norway keep moral credibility without disowning its fortune.

The operative word is “must.” It’s not climate poetry; it’s risk management. In a country whose sovereign wealth fund is built on hydrocarbons, “invest in renewable energy and new technologies” is less an ethical pivot than a hedge against volatility, stranded assets, and the geopolitical reordering that follows energy transitions. The subtext is a promise to voters: your welfare state is not up for renegotiation. We’ll keep the security blanket, but we’re stitching a new one.

Context matters because Stoltenberg’s career has unfolded inside the paradox he’s describing. As a Norwegian prime minister and later a NATO leader, he’s had to reconcile domestic climate commitments with Europe’s ongoing dependence on Norwegian exports, especially after energy shocks made “reliable supplier” a strategic compliment. So the quote performs a delicate triage: honor the revenue base, signal seriousness on decarbonization, and frame the transition as modernization, not sacrifice. It’s Norway’s signature climate politics: pragmatic, polished, and quietly protective of the status quo while preparing for the day it can’t hold.