– Svalbard is going to be very important to come. It is no coincidence that I as party leader fought hard to get this rapporteur closet. I think this is interesting security policy and very interesting environmentally, says Liberal leader Trine Skei Grande.
This fall, namely Parliament treat Svalbard message. It is the main policy document that lays guide for the future development of the island community. Coal Community at 78 degrees north has rarely been more exciting to watch. But Grande was not only impressed the first Svalbard message in six years.
– My main criticism of the government is that there are a few things they did not clarify in the White Paper that I think need to be answered. These include fisheries and energy situation, says Grande.
Capture and Storage
Today, namely all power and heat in Longyearbyen from Norway’s only coal power plants. Liberal leader believes harvest chance must be used to show that Svalbard can be a renewable society. On Arendalsuka politicians have jumped the start processing of debating the possibility of electrification of power production on Svalbard.
– There is a solution I will not reject, but I would also like to highlight the CO2 capture and storage of the power generation that is there today. We in the Liberal Party has carefully followed a project that the university there had with CO2 capture and storage. Can we develop a technology which captures CO2 and stores it in the ground, so there is technology that can be interesting in other parts of the world. I have faith in, says Skei Grande Dagsavisen.
Left has on several occasions to the government promoted Svalbard as a candidate for a major project in Norway for CO2 capture and storage.
The government also mentions the university’s research in Svalbard message. Electrification is not mentioned, and it depends on how eager they are about it when they explicitly writes in the message: “The government does not want to facilitate growth as quickly triggers a need for large investments in new infrastructure such as water supply, heating and power generation . “
Viewing black out for coal
Also, Labour’s Eirik Sivertsen is critical that the government increasingly affecting challenge of future energy supplies in the message. Although he is careful not to come with options, but is clear on one thing:
– The future of Svalbard think about anything but coal and importing coal to Svalbard is the question. We need another solution, and it must be sustainable and clean, said Sivertsen under debate.
He belongs Parliamentary Delegation for Arctic parliamentary cooperation.
Mass Layoffs
This small island community which for 100 years has been based mainly on coal industry is now in a fateful time. Low coal prices have led to mass resignation cornerstone enterprise Store Norwegian Spitsbergen Kulkompani. When downsizing of the company started in 2011, there were approximately 350 employees, now under operation rest will be around 100.
Last year promised state as owner, to spit into a loan of half a billion in the company. In addition, in last year’s budget had been 50 million to adjust to the new industries. Research, higher education and tourism will continue to be priority areas, and so far the employment rate remained stable at Svalbard.
Several employees in hotels and restaurants and cultural activities have weighed up coal decline.
Shipping
Both Labor and the Liberal cites tourism, culture, research and higher education as an important leg for Svalbard also come. However, there is enough opportunity for a more navigable northeast passage, which is seen as the most exciting future. Here is Longyearbyen’s possible future as a port city.
– If the northern passage becomes more important, and we think that we should assert our national sovereignty on Svalbard as it is to have search and rescue in this area part of our job. With increased ship traffic and the increase in cruise, it’s a pretty daunting task, says Skei Grande.
Therefore, she believes it must be developed infrastructure in this area.
– Another real debate is whether one can have fish processing in Svalbard. The government said no to, because they think the fish processing industry to import labor from other countries. The fear then is that there will be too few Norwegians to raise Norwegian sovereignty, says Skei Grande.
Though she is not so sure. So the question is whether she gets along the other parties in Parliament.
debaters highlighted the importance of sovereignty closer to a dozen times during the Svalbard debate in Arendal. With an unpredictable Russia under Putin, it is perhaps not surprising that this aspect is important in the Norwegian Svalbard policy.
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