I enjoyed watching the Netflix movie "Occupied". Part of the plot is that Norway will develop Thorium reactors.
I have been wondering what if in 1995, Norway decided to seriously fund Thorium reactor research as a way to combat global warming. Their motivation is that they have a long sea coast and rising oceans would be devastating to their country. The other benefit is that if they are successful they could establish an industry building Thorium reactors for other countries. The development of the engineering expertise to do this would be a good way to diversify their economy. With their Sovereign Wealth Fund, they could fund the research at a reasonable level based on the premise that reducing global warming is in the long term interest of the Norwegian people.
"The Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the
Oil Fund, was established in 1990 to invest the surplus revenues of the Norwegian
petroleum sector. It has over US$1 trillion in assets, including 1.3% of global stocks and shares, making it the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
[1] In May 2018 it was worth about $195,000 per Norwegian citizen.
[2] It also holds portfolios of real estate and fixed-income investments. Many companies are excluded by the fund on ethical grounds."
What would be impact of Norway funding at a reasonable level development of Thorium reactors?
Thank you