Svalbard in danger - 4th January 2023

Svalbard's a group of islands in Norway. It's near the North Pole. People can see polar bears, the midnight sun and the northern lights there. Svalbard wants tourists to visit. Tourists can travel there by plane or cruise ship. But Svalbard's in danger. Transport makes a lot of CO2. And climate change is melting the ice.

Ronny Brunvoll says this is a big problem in Svalbard.

Ronny Brunvoll: "The really big problem is, is the transport to and from Svalbard. Both in tourism but also us as locals that live here. We have a climate footprint per capita in Longyearbyen that is insane."

Cruise ships use a lot of fuel. In 2022, Svalbard stopped them travelling to the islands. One company wants to go green. Tore Hoem says it's using technology to help.

Tore Hoem: "Well, we try to, to be as, as sustainable as technology allows us and this is for us a big step forward in that direction. And we hope to sort of make a difference and help technology go forward."

In the past, Svalbard had coal mines. This made lots of CO2. They closed many of them. Now, the main business is tourism. But this is dangerous for the environment too.

Børre Haugli says it's a difficult situation.

Børre Haugli: "The tourist industry themself in Svalbard want to have sustainable industry and they develop themself into more sustainable activities. But I think we are on the limit of, of how many tourists we can cope with."