09 Jan 2008 - OSLO,
NORWAY – WWF has negotiated with “Climate
Saver” companies a total reduction of greenhouse
gas emission that equal 20% of Norway’s
total emissions in 2007. Spitsbergen Travel
(ST) is the first Norwegian company which
has joined the Climate Saver group. WWF
and ST announced today their agreement to
reduce greenhouse gases from the company’s
operations. The agreement also commits ST
to become climate neutral by 2010.
ST is the first Norwegian
company to sign an agreement with the WWF
Climate Savers scheme which commits companies
to primarily reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions on an absolute level.
Rasmus Hansson, CEO
WWF-Norway, is happy about the achievements.
“WWF’s cooperation with
the industry to achieve emission reductions
shows that it is possible to make fast and
substantial cuts if you just want to. It
is worrying that Norway is heading in the
opposite direction. With the current policies,
Norway will reach record-high emissions
this year,” says Hansson.
Norway’s total greenhouse
gas emissions in 2006 were 8% above the
11000 base year emissions, in complete contradiction
to the commitments in the Kyoto Protocol.
According to the Kyoto Protocol, Norway
was supposed to have no more than 1% higher
emissions compared to 11000 in the period
2008 – 2012.
"This is why it
is so important that the negotiations in
parliament, which resume today, make a clean
cut with the current unsuccessful climate
policy,” says Hansson.
Spitsbergen Travel has
committed to reduce the company’s CO2 emissions
by 16,867 tons in the period 2008 – 2013.
This cut equals a reduction of about 2,800
tons per year which is as much as the annual
emissions of 6,000 cars. By 2013, Spitsbergen
Travel’s emissions shall be 7% less than
in 2005.
Jan S. Sivertsen, Spitsbergen
Travel’s managing director, says that the
company will achieve the emission reductions
through adjustments to equipment and infrastructure,
investing in more efficient snow mobiles
and by using alternative fuels should those
become available on Svalbard.
“For the emissions that
we cannot effect directly, like transport
of people and goods to the island, we will
buy CO2 emission quota certified according
to the Gold Standard. Thus, our operations
will become climate neutral by the end of
2010,” says Sivertsen.
Oliver Rapf, who is
in charge of WWF’s business involvement
on climate change, challenged other players
in the tourism industry, and particularly
Spitsbergen Travel’s parent company Hurtigruten,
to tackle their emissions and become a ”Climate
Saver.”
“WWF is convinced that
the industry has to take responsibility
for its carbon footprint. Sound business
practices must include the managementand
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. There
is just no way around it. The way companies
address climate change is also increasingly
becoming a criterion for business analysts
when valuing a company,” says Rapf.
Rapf presented the joined
results of the Climate Saver companies’
reduction efforts, which includes big international
corporations like Sony and Tetra Pak.
The Climate Saver-companies
had in 2007 committed to a total greenhouse
gas reduction of about 10 million tons CO2
equivalents, which equals about 20% of Norway’s
greenhouse gas emissions in 2007.
