1. 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

2. 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

4. Arctic Climate Feedbacks
• 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.
Download the report and accompanying material from
www.panda.org/arctic/climatefeedbacks

5. Oil exploration here?

6. 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

7. 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)

8. 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)

9. How do you make oil
spill preparedness work
here?

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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!

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

14. Emissions reduction effort under a budget
Carbon Budget: cumulative emissions 1990-2100:
1830 GT CO2 eq. (excl. LULUCF)
~95% cuts, part of
80% globally
European Council (Oct.2010): 80-95% cuts by 2050
WWF/ Ecofys carbon budgets report, 2009

15. McKinsey: oil is on its way out
BEVs
under
95%
Source: McKinsey 2010: ‘Roadmap 2050’

16. -95% in Europe,
-80% globally
Source: McKinsey 2010: ‘Roadmap 2050’

17. Source: McKinsey 2010: ‘Roadmap 2050’

18. 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.

19. 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

20. A transition won’t be easy.
It will involve hard choices.
But if not Norway, who?

21. janderson@wwfepo.org