Decision criteria for climate projects 1 by Petter Osmundsen* and Magne Emhjellen** * University of Stavanger ** Petoro AS This article analyses commercial decision criteria for climate projects. The latter will normally be executed by private players, for whom decision criteria developed from a commercial perspective are important. But such criteria are also important for the government in calculating the size of subsidies required for various measures. A ranking of different solutions in a socio-economic context must rest on calculations made from a commercial perspective. Examples of the subjects covered include the calculation of abatement unit costs and cost estimating for climate projects. The carbon capture project at the Kårstø gas-fired power station in south-west Norway is used as a case throughout the analysis. * Petter Osmundsen, department of industrial economics and risk management, University of Stavanger, NO-4036 Stavanger, Norway. E-mail: Petter.Osmundsen@uis.no , home page: http://www5.uis.no/kompetansekatalog/visCV.aspx?ID=08643&sprak=BOKMAL ** Magne Emhjellen, Petoro AS, P O Box 300 Sentrum, NO- 4002 Stavanger, Norway. E-mail: Magne.Emhjellen@petoro.no 1 Thanks are due to Johan Gjærum, Per Ivar Gjærum, Kåre Petter Hagen and Knut Einar Rosendahl for constructive comments. We would also like to thank a number of specialists in business and the civil service for useful comments and proposals.