Protecting high north ecosystems the energy and climate dimension

Protecting high north ecosystems: the energy and climate dimension OLF Energy Dialogue, Brussels, 14 April 2010

Jason Anderson Head of European Climate Change and Energy Policy WWF European Policy Office

The Arctic is warming...

Air temperatures rising Sea ice melting

Ocean surface warming

Snow cover declining Permafrost warming

Glacier retreat accelerating Greenland Ice Sheet melting

•  Amplification of global warming in the Arctic will have fundamental impacts on Northern Hemisphere weather.

•  The global ocean circulation system will change under the strong influence of arctic warming.

•  The loss of ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased and will contribute substantially to sea level rise.

•  Arctic marine systems currently provide a substantial carbon sink but the continuation of this service depends critically on arctic climate change impacts.

•  Arctic terrestrial ecosystems will continue to take up carbon, but warming and changes in surface hydrology will cause a far greater release of carbon.

Arctic Climate Feedbacks

Download the report and accompanying material from www.panda.org/arctic/climatefeedbacks

Oil exploration here?

Globally significant wildlife in the Norwegian Sea

•  The world’s last large cod stock (Barents sea, spawns in Lofoten)

•  Capelin and herring – two of the world’s largest fish stocks

•  150 other fish species •  Several hundred coldwater coral reefs, including the

world’s largest outside Rost •  Several thousand kilometers of kelp forest and large

sponge communities •  Enormous seabirds colonies, with more than 40

different species and 20 milllion birds

Nature is more vulnerable in the north

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (2009):

• Nature in Lofoten-Barentshavet is more exposed

• Ecosystems – fewer species than in the south, less

resilience to change and impact

• Clean-up operations after spills extremely challenging –

strong winds, bad weather, large waves, partial ice

cover, darkness, and limited infrastructure

• Slower break-down of oil (climate, lack of daylight and

ice cover)

Lofoten and Vesteraalen •  Nature values of global and ”eternal” importance:

•  World’s largest cod stock

•  World’s largest herring stock

•  Large coral reefs and important seabird

colonies

•  UNESCO world heritage (under consideration) –

international responsibility to protect

•  ALL environmental advisory bodies are advising

against oil activity (HI, Klif, NPI, NINA, DN)

How do you make oil spill preparedness work here?

Oil spill preparedness in the north

•  Oil spill preparedness still too poor/insufficient to handle increased activity in Arctic waters

•  No real technical development for 40 yrs regarding methods and materials

•  Lack of daylight/visibility during winter

•  Temperature

•  Ice conditions and icing

• Wave heights/conditions, rough seas

•  Limited infrastructure

•  Lack of available personel resources with appropriate competence and endurance

Zero discharge is impossible!

•  Accidents can happen from platforms, underwater/seabed installations, pipelines, from land or from tankers

•  More than 2,500 accidental spills from platforms on Norwegian continental shelf

•  The second biggest spill in Norwegian history (4,000 tons of crude oil) from Statfjord A in December 2007 – during a routine operation on a well-established, well-managed oil field

•  Accidents happen, and will happen again

Oil vs Nature

•  The ocean outside Nordland county is worth at least 3

200 billion kroner (Fiskerihøgskolen, 2008)

•  The oil outside Lofoten and Vesteraalen has an

estimated value of 1 200 billion kroner (OLF, 2009)

•  Nature is worth 3X as much as the oil!

Protect Norway’s most important areas

WWF’s proposal: protect the most important nature values, plus a buffer zone of 2 days oil drift

Emissions reduction effort under a budget Carbon Budget: cumulative emissions 1990-2100: 1830 GT CO2 eq. (excl. LULUCF)

WWF/ Ecofys carbon budgets report, 2009

~95% cuts, part of 80% globally

European Council (Oct.2010): 80-95% cuts by 2050

McKinsey: oil is on its way out

Source: McKinsey 2010: ‘Roadmap 2050’

BEVs under 95%

Source: McKinsey 2010: ‘Roadmap 2050’

-95% in Europe, -80% globally

Source: McKinsey 2010: ‘Roadmap 2050’

Petroleum from the high north…

• Puts globally significant ecosystems at risk

• Puts natural resources of higher value at risk

• Perpetuates a dependency that we know needs to be broken, and which will be cheaper if we break.

Open invitation WWF invites OLF, Statoil and the oil industry

generally to engage in the discussion;

“How do we plan the inevitable transformation from an oil based energy platform and economy into a sustainable renewable one?”

1.  How much of the remaining oil should be used vs. left?

2. Where should the remaining activity take place and where not?

3.  The long term investment strategies of oil companies (particularly Statoil which is >60% owned by the Norwegian people).

 WWF has good cooperation with most industries, but to date OLF has not been open to a real discussion

A transition won’t be easy.

It will involve hard choices.

But if not Norway, who?

[email protected]