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Publish date: October 21, 2011
News
By using a modified sonar on the ocean bed and measuring the thickness of ice that flows by, researchers from The Norwegian Polar Institute have been able to get more accurate measurements of ice conditions.
“Their dramatic findings confirm that the ice is melting away at tremendous speed. The effect on the Arctic environment and the global climate is potentially devastating,” says climate adviser Svend Søyland at The Bellona Foundation.
“Locally, in the Arctic, the rapid deterioration of the ice cap will destroy the natural habitat of polar species, such as polar bears, walrus, fish and birds. Globally, the effect on our climate will be further heating of the oceans. The abilitiy to store CO2 in the oceans is already pushed to the limit,” says Søyland.
For 20 years, scientists from the Norwegian Polar Institute have monitored ice thickness in the Fram Strait, between Greenland and the Svalbard Archipelago. According to their data, the thickness of the ice cap has been gradually decreasing. The thickest layer was lost in the 1990s. Now, we are close to the point where multiyear ice, which ordinarily survives the summer melting season, can melt away during the course of one summer.
“It is a vicious circle. When the ice cover recedes, less light is reflected back into space and the ocean will therefore become warmer – speeding up the melting of the polar ice even further,” says Søyland.
“The Norwegian Government must show leadership by restricting oil and gas activities in the Arctic, as well as put restrictions on the emerging maritime activities, such as crossings trough the Northern sea route,” says Søyland.
“Perhaps we should follow the example from the Antarctic Treaty by declaring areas off-limits to commercial activities, in order to prevent air emissions, accidental oil spills and save vulnerable spawning areas,” he adds.
Bellona believes Norway can play an important role in, for instance, negotiating a robust oil spill preparedness cooperation programme between the Arctic nations.
Svend Søyland, Climate Avdviser at The Bellona Foundation.
+ 47 474 87 930 or svend@bellona.no
Today the European Parliament voted in plenary on a variety of crucial climate files, including the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) and the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA). These votes send strong signals on the need for coherent climate policy which supports and manages the deployment of Carbon Dioxide Removal and Carbon Capture and Storage in an environmentally robust way.
We’re excited to share that we will be present at COP28! The Bellona Foundation will be hosting the Storytelling for Action Pavilion in the Blue Zone alongside BAFTA albert, Futerra and Think-Film Impact Production.
Safeguarding the chapters on CCS in the NZIA are crucial, so says the 23 co-signatories to our letter sent to EU Member States and European Parliament. The NZIA is a golden opportunity to ensure appropriate development of much-needed CO2 storage capacity, enabling industrial decarbonisation and a Just Transition by the retention of important welfare-carrying jobs in the harder-to-abate sector, while at the same time ensuring the proportionate contribution of Oil and Gas companies.
Overall, the target setting in the EU is an example that other regions of the world should follow in terms of creating demand for hydrogen in the right sectors, while backing it up with the renewable generation deployment to meet the demand from the electrolysers. However, the supportive landscape that could ensure targets are met is largely missing, leaving the EU strategy towards hydrogen use ambiguous and thus less effective.
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