The city of Oslo, which was ranked number one in terms of quality of life and peace and quiet among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report, is driving out some of its remaining sources of loud noise.
One of any city’s greatest sources of loud noise is construction, which is also a large consumer of fossil fuels. In both cases, it is typically internal combustion engine (ICE) construction equipment that’s the source of the racket and of greenhouse gas emissions. Oslo officials recognized this early, and the city in an earlier decade led the way in replacing petrol- and diesel-powered equipment with heavy machinery that runs on biofuel, a move that of course had no impact on the clean-air movement.
Today, however, the picture is quite different: Recent data shows that Oslo’s municipal building sites were 98% free from fossil fuel-powered construction equipment as of 2023, the latest year for which such figures are available. Some 75% of the equipment was powered by biofuels and under 25% was powered by electricity.
More recent data is, however, available from the Bymiljøetaten, the Agency for Urban Environment. For projects run by that agency, some 66% of the machine hours were powered by electricity, while only one-third was powered by biodiesel.
A preference for electrically-powered automobiles is nothing new in Oslo, and it’s important to note that electric vehicles accounted for 88.9% of new cars sold in Norway in calendar year 2024, up from 82.4% in 2023, according to data from the Norwegian Road Federation, Opplysningsrådet for Veitrafikken.
For some, however, the city has become a bit too hushed. Indeed, not everyone is on board with the plan for a quieter Oslo.
The requirement for construction companies to be emission-free is “right now neither effective nor cost-efficient,” the NHO Byggenæringen, a group representing the construction industry, said in a prepared statement.
Source: NHO Bymiljøetaten
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