The UN is urging Norway to shut down its coal mining operations on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard due to concerns due to a clash of interest with the islands’ major functionality of climate change research. Executive secretary on climate change for the UN, Christiana Figueres, said that Svalbard is a bastion of climate change research and that this and coal mining fits very poorly together.She also cited that Norway has been one of the global leaders when it comes to sustainable energy programmes and green living.
Svalbard has hosted mining activity since the turn of the twentieth century and the economic legacy of this would be difficult to shut down according to Norway’s climate and environment minister Tine Sundtoft.

A five-year life mine at Lunckefjell was given the seal of approval in 2011, but the current government has not come to a decision on an approach going forward. Carbon capture and storage technology could be one possibility, and Norway’s politicians have refused to rule out expanding mining activity on the island.

Figueres also warned that the Scandinavian country should take into account the economic cost of extracting ever-hard to reach oil and gas stockpiles, saying that most of the cheaper finds have already been used up.

However, the World Coal Association (WCA) has appealed to Norway to provide global leadership in meeting the challenges of economic development, energy poverty and climate change, by rejecting calls to ban coal investments.

(miningglobal)

Fearing that his Pacific island nation could be swallowed by a rising ocean, the president of Kiribati says a visit to the melting Arctic has helped him appreciate the scale of the threat. President Anote Tong on Saturday ended a Greenpeace-organized tour of glaciers in Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago, a trip he said left a deep impression that he would share with world leaders at a U.N. climate summit next week in New York.”It’s a very fascinating sight. In spite of that, what I feel very deeply is the sense of threat,” Tong said. “If all of that ice would disappear it would end up eroding our shores.”
Scientists say the melt of Arctic glaciers is a key factor in the sea level rise that is threatening island nations such as Kiribati, an impoverished string of 33 coral atolls located about halfway between Hawaii and Australia. Many of its atolls rise just a few feet above sea level.

In a landmark report last year, the U.N.’s expert panel on climate change said oceans could rise by as much as 1 meter (3.3 feet) by the end of this century if no action is taken to cut the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. The summit in New York is meant to build momentum for a global agreement next year to cut emissions.

“It won’t take a lot of sea level rise to affect our islands,” Tong said. “We are already having problems.”

Tong said he hopes his country won’t have to be evacuated. Still, it has bought 20 square kilometers of land in Fiji as “an investment, a guarantee” in case part of the population has to be moved, he said.

(AP)

Despite a cold political climate, the United States and Russia cooperated on a secret September voyage with highly enriched uranium from Poland to Murmansk, Russia. Norwegian radiation authorities were not informed before the vessel sailed into Norway’s economic zone. The head of Vardø Vessel Traffic Service, Ståle Sveinungsen, confirmed to the Barents Observer that the vessel Mikhail Dudin was carrying a load of highly radioactive material when it sailed along the coast of Norway two weeks ago.“That is correct. The vessel entered Vardø Traffic Service’s systems on the evening on Sept. 2 and sailed out again in the afternoon on Sept. 8,” Sveinungsen said.
The position of the vessel on Sept. 15, posted on MarineTraffic.com, was in the waters just outside Atomflot in the Kola Bay.

The Mikhail Dudin came from Gdynia in Poland and sailed into Norwegian economical waters southeast of Kristiansand and left Norwegian waters east of the Varanger Fjord in the Barents Sea where she made a port call in Murmansk the day after.

The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority is responsible for emergency preparedness and has, on similar occasions that occurred earlier, said it would like Polish or other authorities to inform Norway upfront of such potentially dangerous cargo on route along the Norwegian coast.

“Norwegian Radiation Protection authorities was informed the same evening,” Sveinungsen said.

Concerns raised
A nuclear physicist with the Bellona Foundation in Oslo, Nils Bøhmer, is concerned about the fact that the agency responsible for radiation preparedness was not informed before.

“I’m deeply worried about that fact,” he told the Barents Observer. He said that lack of information makes it very difficult to establish needed safety precautions.

Highly-enriched uranium can be used to produce nuclear weapons and the Americans responsible for the transport have on similar occasions earlier argued that fears of terrorism is the main reason why such cargoes sail without upfront notices.

The U.S.-Russian cooperation is a part of the global campaign to reduce the threat of materials that could serve to provide unwanted non-governmental groups or states with a nuclear bomb.

Without naming the voyage to Murmansk earlier in September, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told Reuters this week that “we have just moved more than 50 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from Poland, working cooperatively, to accomplish that.”

Russian officials were not immediately available for comment on the shipment.

In Murmansk, the cargo vessel Mikhail Dudin makes port call to Atomflot, the harbor of Russia’s civilian nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet, a few kilometers north of the city center. From Atomflot, the potential nuclear bomb material is transported by rail to Mayak in the south Urals.

The first time such nuclear cargo shipment took place outside the coast of Norway was back in 2009. Then, the Norwegian Radiation Authority was not informed about the cargo before being contacted by the Barents Observer.

(Alaska Dispatch News.)

A Norwegian local resident told Norwegian broadcaster NRK he thought the cruise ship took a chance by sailing close to the rocky coast on its way into the quay. This Bahamas-registered cruise ship with almost one thousand British tourists on board that ran aground in northern Norway on Saturday managed to get free using its own engines and high tides, rescue services said.The 176-meter (580-foot) “Marco Polo” ship later docked at a quay in Buksnesfjord and seemed to “function normally,” the services said.
“Marco Polo” was chartered by Britain-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages and was carrying more than a thousand people when it ran aground in the Lofoten archipelago early Saturday.

Two tugs boats and as many coast guard vessels tried to assist the ship.

There were no injuries, and no damage to the ship.

Arctic Biodiversity Congress gathers Arctic leaders to discuss sustainability- Trondheim, Norway, December 2-4, 2014. Over 400 Arctic leaders, scientists, government representatives, indigenous peoples, and members of industry and non-governmental organizations are meeting in Trondheim, Norway to discuss the future of Arctic nature and sustainability at the Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4, 2014.“Climate change is by far the most serious threat to Arctic biodiversity, but it does not act in isolation”, says Tine Sundtoft, Minister for Climate and Environment. “We need to understand all of the changes happening in the Arctic so we can better prepare our policy in the region. This Congress will help inform the appropriate responses.”

The Congress, hosted by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Working Group of the Arctic Council and the Norwegian Environment Agency, will bring together diverse circumpolar voices to discuss three main themes related to: Arctic change, resilience and adaptation; mainstreaming biodiversity objectives into decision-making; and understanding cumulative effects.

“There are many challenges facing us in the North”, said Vincent Rigby, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council. “That is why it is a priority to take decisive action to help sustain Arctic species and ecosystems so that current and future generations continue to benefit from a healthy Arctic.”

“Consistent with Alcoa’s environmental policy, the Foundation actively endorses opportunities to conserve biodiversity,” said Tricia Napor, Director of Programs, Alcoa Foundation. “CAFF is a natural partner for us because they are working creatively to mainstream biodiversity and bring together cross-sector stakeholders to find actionable solutions that will help protect valuable ecosystems.”

The program’s forty-five sessions will provide in-depth analysis of a variety of topics including: the status of various ecosystems and wildlife; identifying and safeguarding sensitive areas; traditional knowledge; incorporating biodiversity goals into industrial operations; human-polar bear conflicts; and collaborative research and monitoring.

The Congress follows the May 2013 release of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment, a report containing the best available science informed by traditional ecological knowledge on the status and trends of Arctic biodiversity and accompanying policy recommendations for biodiversity conservation. Results of the Congress will advise CAFF on the implementation plan of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment.

“Interest in the Congress has already exceeded our expectations”, said Risa Smith, Congress Co-Chair and CAFF Chair. “It demonstrates the pressing need for this type of dialogue on Arctic biodiversity science and-policy”.

The United Nations called on Norway last summer to close its coal mining operation on the Svalbard Arctic archipelago. It did. The government of Norway, which has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund ($860bn), has also announced plans to divest from coal. This means the wealth fund will divest from 14 coal mining companies, one coal-fired generator, five tar-sands oil producers and two cement makers (since cement is produced by burning coal).This is being described as a giant step forward in the fossil fuel shutoff movement.
This is the first time a country has decided to divest for environmental and climate change reasons.

Today Norway is using electric power from hydro plants.

On February 4, Norway announced its commitment to meet the 2015 Paris UN climate agreement (known as COP 21). To do so, Norway will cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% compared to 1990 levels by 2030.

Even though Norway is not a member of the European Union, its new goals match the EU target.

(neurope)

U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr. will visit Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Russia for consultations with key Arctic stakeholders, January 15–27, ahead of the U.S. assumption of the Arctic Council chairmanship in April 2015. During his visit he will meet with government officials, indigenous communities, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and scientific, academic, and business leaders.
Admiral Papp will deliver a speech at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, speak at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Norway, deliver public remarks at the Greenlandic House of Copenhagen in Denmark, and participate in a seminar at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

He will participate in a roundtable discussion with University of the Arctic student ambassadors and meet with representatives of the Arctic Council Secretariat in Norway. He will also visit a Finnish icebreaker in Helsinki and engage with the Sami Parliament and Sami community in Finland.

(N.Sethu , US Department of State)

The so-called “doomsday vault” located on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard has received its first delivery of forest tree species seeds – a Norway spruce and a Scots pine. The depository, which first opened in 2008, is attempting to preserve all global food crop seeds in the event of catastrophic natural or man-made disasters, according to the Beacon Review. The scientists there are hoping to monitor long-term genetic changes in natural forests.“The possibility to have seed samples stored in the vault is a great opportunity to complement our forest tree gene conservation, which is based on in situ gene reserve forests,” Dr. Mari Rusanen, a researcher for Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), one of the organizations involved in the seed collection, told BBC News on Sunday.
“The beauty of in situ conservation is in its dynamic nature – we aim to converse natural genetic diversity per se, rather than specific genes or genotypes,” she added. “However, in the seed vault we will have long-term, ex situ, conservation/preservation of the existing genetic composition of the selected gene reserve forests.”

Dr. Rusanen went on to explain that the vault offered peace-of-mind in the unlikely event of a devastating event, such as all-out nuclear war or an apocalyptic weather event. On a more personal level, though, she said that she felt it was more important to collect the samples in order to monitor how these ecosystems change over the long-term.

They’ve been pining for a spruce

The Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is a species of pine that is native to Europe and Asia and can be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orange-red bark. The Norway spruce (Picea abies) is a species of spruce native to Central and Eastern Europe that can grow to up to 180 feet tall and is used as the primary Christmas tree in many parts of the world.

The two tree species seeds, which were Finland and Norway, are the first consignment of seeds from a consortium of scientific groups from throughout the Nordic nations, BBC News noted. They were selected because of the key economic, ecological and social role that they play, and the global seed vault is expected to add several other types of trees in the near future.

Brian Lainoff of the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT), the group that operates the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, told BBC News that there were several reasons why they decided to collect forest tree seeds in the frozen outpost, located on the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean.

“The genetic diversity of forest tree species worldwide is influenced by a number of factors, of which climate change and forest management activities are most important for the major forest tree species,” he said. “Fragmentation of populations, browsing, pests and diseases are other factors of varying importance.”

Future entries

Lainoff added that while the Nordic consortium’s seeds were the first to enter the vault, future entries will be contributed from other countries. Among other new arrivals at the Svalbard vault were soy bean, barley, lentil, sorghum and wheat samples contributed by officials at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as nearly 2,500 rice samples from AfricaRice.

“Africa is bearing the brunt of all of the global challenges that threaten food security, such as political instability, climate change and population increase,” said Dr. Marie-Noelle Ndjiondjop, head of AfricaRice’s Genetic Resources Unit. “We must not lose the ability to develop the crops that will help us meet and overcome these challenges.”

(redorbit)

As Russia strengthens its naval, air and ground forces in its northern territories, Norway has responded by scaling-up manpower, equipment and Arctic combat units as part of a broader reinforcement of its High North defenses. Norway’s program, part of the Norwegian Defense Forces’ (NDF) Smart Defense strategy, comprises a strong Arctic-focused dimension in funding and resource allocation.The Smart Defense approach to High North military reinforcement has, since 2010, placed higher priority on Arctic-class specialized equipment procurement coupled with more intensive training for High North-deployed units. The goal is to produce combat-ready modular units that can fight independently or alongside NATO forces.
The NDF’s August 2009 decision to relocate the Army’s headquarters functions to the Arctic town of Bodø — 1,700 kilometers north of Oslo — bolstered Norway’s commitment to establishing an integrated High North defense system. That decision led to the establishment of the Joint Operational Command Headquarters (JOCH).

This new approach is centered around more compact units equipped with the best available Arctic fighting equipment and capable of delivering greater firepower.

The JOCH is overseeing the evolution of Norway’s High North defenses into a centralized command and coordinated fighting structure that will be able to call upon an Air Force equipped with F-35s, forward Army battalions deploying CV90 tracked armored fighting vehicles and high mobility Archer artillery units, and a stronger Navy operating anti-aircraft and submarine-hunting Arctic-class Fridtjof Nansen frigates and Skjold corvettes.

The scaling-up of Norway’s defense capabilities in the High North is happening while the military intelligence services are urging the government to adopt a more cautious posture toward Russia’s increasing militarization in the region.

Although the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) believes Norway is under no “short- to medium-term threat” from Russia, its latest open threat evaluation assessment, FOKUS-2015, advocates vigilance.

“Threat is a combination of two factors; capacity and intention,” NIS chief Lt. Gen. Kjell Grandhagen said. “Although capacity is increasing, it is difficult for the time being to see a rational reason for Russian military activity against Norway in a short- to medium-term perspective. But intentions can change over time, and it is therefore now increasingly important for Norway to follow Russia’s long-term political, economic and military development.”

The NIS’ intel-gathering capacity will be enhanced once its new advanced signals intelligence ship, the Marjata 11, enters service in the High North and Barents Sea in 2016.

Under the Smart Defense program, Ørland, located on the mid-Norway coast, and Evenes, above Norway’s Arctic Circle, will become the main operating bases for F-35 aircraft and, during more regular joint exercises, NATO aircraft and forces. Evenes also will house a Quick Reaction Alert squadron.

Ørland, Evenes and the NDF’s core High North battalions will also be equipped with an updated Norwegian advanced surface-to-air missile system, which is being deployed primarily to protect key military installations, warfare units and infrastructure against air-to-surface attacks.

The system uses active missiles and different types of sensors, boosting firepower for the NDF’s Smart Defense and High North strengthening program.

Archer, the next-generation self-propelled artillery system developed as a joint project with Sweden, also increases firepower. Norway plans to deploy 24 Archer systems complete with fully automated 155 mm/L52 howitzer guns and M151 Protector remote-controlled weapon stations. These are mounted on modified Volvo A30 six-wheel-drive chassis all-terrain articulated haulers.

The Arctic-class Archer’s operational strike-and-run capacity makes it ideal in the hilly and forested terrains of the High North. Moreover, Archer can fire Nexter Bonus and Raytheon/Bofors XM982 Excalibur guided rounds over respective distances of 34 kilometers and 60 kilometers.

The NDF also is establishing a specialized Arctic-trained “professional” rapid reaction force north (RRFN), set to become fully operational in 2017. The RRFN unit’s core will comprise an existing armored battalion and a motorized infantry battalion equipped with CV90 infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard 2 tanks

Norway’s ability to defend its High North territories also received a boost from the Defense Ministry’s US $1.6 billion program to re-equip its core forward armored brigade units with CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, part of the NDF’s biggest fighting vehicle modernization project investment.

The vehicle fleet upgrade, with delivery scheduled from BAE Systems in 2015-17, will include 74 modernized and armor-strengthened infantry fighting vehicles, 21 reconnaissance, 16 multirole (mortar carrier or cargo), 15 command and control, 16 engineering, in addition to two driver training vehicle types.

The new and updated vehicles are expected to make the NDF’s forward armored battalions in the High North more mobile with improved firepower. The infantry vehicles also will have better protection against armor-piercing weapons and rounds, including improvised explosive devices.

The infantry and reconnaissance vehicles will also be equipped with better sensor systems, surveillance and communication capabilities, and fitted with integrated technologies that will extend to dismounted infantry troops. Norwegian company Kongsberg’s Protector remote weapon stations are to be fitted to all IFV variants.

The need to prioritize military readiness and defense capability in the High North helped drive Norway’s decision to raise spending on defense above that of any of its Nordic neighbors, said defense analyst Thorvald Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian defense minister.

“Russia is rebuilding its naval and Air Force strength, as well as its Arctic fighting capability, in the High North,” Stoltenberg said. “While this is understandable from a Russian perspective, its growing level of activity regionally is causing problems and concerns among all Nordic governments and militaries. This is unfortunate, as the emphasis should be on building more, not less, bilateral cooperation with Russia on defense and security in the Arctic.”

Norway’s defense budget will run to $8 billion in 2015.

(gannett-cdn)

Sky-gazers in the Arctic were treated to a perfect view of a total solar eclipse yesterday as the moon completely blocked out the sun in a clear sky, casting a shadow over Norway’s remote archipelago of Svalbard. People shouted, cheered and applauded as Longyearbyen, the main town in Svalbard, plunged into darkness. The skies were clear, offering a full view of the sun’s corona — a faint ring of rays surrounding the moon — that is only visible during a total solar eclipse.Earlier, a blanket of clouds in the Faeroe Islands blocked thousands of people there from experiencing the full effect of the total eclipse.
The Faeroes and Svalbard were the only two places on land where the eclipse was total.

Despite the clouds in the Faeroes, tourists and residents in Torshavn alike hooted and applauded as the daylight dimmed for about two minutes and 45 seconds.

“It was a pretty big disappointment not to be able to see the sun,” said Janaki Lund Jensen, who had sailed from Copenhagen with 884 others to see the eclipse.

Hotel rooms have been booked for years as thousands came to the Faeroe Islands to try to see the eclipse.

Sigrun Skalagard, in the northern parts of the Faeroes, said birds there went silent and dogs started howling.

“Some people were surprised to see how fast it became dark,” she said.

A partial solar eclipse could be seen yesterday across Europe and parts of Asia and Africa.

Britain’s Met Office said 95 percent of the sun was covered in the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetland Islands, and 1 percent less further south in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

In Copenhagen, the sun was 85 percent covered up, while 80 percent was hidden in southern Sweden.

(AP)

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams) has announced the start of two research projects worth £4.7m. The Oban-based Sams will be a partner in Norwegian-led studies investigating changes in Arctic ecosystems. Arctic ABC will investigate how the Arctic is responding to the loss of sea ice, whilst FAABulous will focus on changes in Arctic algae.Sams has previously been involved in pioneering research involving the little-studied polar night.
Arctic ABC was launched in Oban during a recent Arctic conference at Sams, which welcomed 40 delegates from the UK, Norway, USA, Russia, Germany and Denmark.

This project aims to understand the ecological consequences of the melting of the Arctic sea ice by observing what goes on underneath sea ice in the polar night, and will draws on Sams’ experience in the areas of robotic technologies, sea ice physics, polar oceanography and ecology.

Opening Pandora’s box

Arctic ABC follows on from ongoing pieces of research involving the polar night – when there is continuous darkness 24 hours a day, a phenomenon that only happens in Arctic regions north of the polar circles.

The polar night is as yet little-studied, due to difficulties in access and working conditions, but Dr Cottier said that their work had suggested there was more life and activity there than previously thought.

The research looked into how the moon triggers mass migration behaviours in zooplankton during the polar night, and the subsequent impact that has on the ecosystem and fisheries there.

Zooplankton behaviour in more normal conditions is dictated by the sun – in the daylight, they tend to go to lower depths to avoid being eaten, whereas at night they come to the surface to feed. The project found that during the polar night, the zooplankton switch to a lunar cycle rather than a solar one.

Professor Jørgen Berge of the Arctic University of Norway, who is leading Arctic ABC, said: “80 degrees north of Svalbard the polar night becomes pitch black. It’s a black box no-one has properly looked into but we opened a Pandora’s box; everything was a discovery of the polar night.”

Dr Finlo Cottier, organiser of the conference, said he understood that some people might find it strange that a lab based on the west coast of Scotland was so deeply involved in Arctic research.

But he said Sams had a long history in the field, dating back to the late 19th Century.
Before one of his Arctic expeditions, Fridtjof Nansen, the great Norwegian explorer, came to do a marine biology field course at the association, which was called the Royal Scottish Marine Station at the time.

A recent House of Lords Arctic Committee report highlighted the UK government’s 2013 Arctic Policy Framework as “too hesitant and cautious,” and recommended the UK becomes more effective in “communicating its connections to the Arctic and its strengths in knowledge, skills and businesses with relevance to the Arctic.”

But Dr Cottier believes although visibility of research might be quite low due to it being done in “small pockets”, when the work is packaged together, there is a “tremendous amount” being done in the UK on the Arctic.

Prof Asgeir Sørensen, director of Norway’s Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems (AMOS), who is also involved with the projects, said that the involvement and co-operation of British institutions in research campaigns was vital for the future.

“It is extremely important that the UK and Norway work together and our partnership working with Sams, in particular, is extremely exciting and stimulating,” he said.
“The Arctic is one of the most undiscovered areas of the planet and that curiosity is driving us to work together, not separately.”

(BBC)

At the site of a rapidly shrinking glacier in the Norwegian Arctic, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need for the international community to “take action now” to fight climate change. “I am just close to 250 metres to the glacier. It looks magnificent. But at the same time, I am alarmed that there are so many cracks that will soon break. They are melting very rapidly, and I fully agree with what scientists have been projecting. Unless we take action now, we will have to regret. We have to keep global temperature rise below two degrees as soon as possible,” he said.Preparing for the upcoming meeting of the States parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that will take place in Paris in 2015, the UN chief was in Norway this week to attend a number of high-level events.
On board the research vessel RV Lance, he seized that opportunity to see first-hand the changes in the Blomstrandbreen glacier since he last visited in 2009.

Unless we take action now, we will have to regret. We have to keep global temperature rise below two degrees as soon as possible.

“The fjord behind us has been open every winter, throughout the winter because the ocean is warmer. So we have seen a lot of change since the Secretary-General was here last time,” said Kim Holmén, International Director of Norwegian Polar Institute.

“Glaciers on land are also a very visible example of the change in climate. Every year they are retreating and here in this area we have a lowering of the surface of approximately one meter per year, due to melting,” added the Director of Norwegian Polar Institute, Jan-Gunnar Winther, who travelled with the Secretary-General on board the research vessel RV Lance.

Besides taking an excursion to Blomstrandbreen, Mr. Ban today received briefings at the Kings Bay Marine Lab and the Svalbard Satellite Station, both in Norway.