| Environment, Climate and Energy – Nordic Counties as the Green Valley of Europe | |
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The Nordic countries may seem a small and uniform region in the context of the world, but noticeable differences can be found from the angle of environmental issues. Whilst the regions on the coast of the Baltic Sea are threatened by floods as a result of the climate change, regions situated further north and the Arctic region are challenged by rising temperatures and the ice melting. The main environmental problem of Iceland and autonomous regions Greenland and the Faroe Islands is pollution caused by fishing and transport. Reducing their dependence on non-renewable energy sources is a big challenge for these countries. All this makes stories of success even more satisfying. For example, North Atlantic Cooperation (NORA) funded the project of Icelandic company Marorka in 2002, which resulted in the creation of an IT solution called Maren – an important tool in optimising the energy consumption of ships and reducing the production of greenhouse gases. Find out more in the chapters below: - Initiatives of the Estonian Office of the NCM Initiatives of the Estonian Office of the NCM The NCM asked the Technopolis Group to conduct a thorough study in 2009 to ascertain the bioenergy resources of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and their use and how the Baltic States could cooperate with the Nordic countries in this area. Halldór Ásgrímsson, Secretary-General of the NCM talks about use of bioenergy and opportunities for cooperation in the Nordic countries and Baltic States.
The study showed that the Baltic States have vast potential in the development of bioenergy. The latter applies primarily to research and cooperation as the states have been using bioenergy on a rather broad scale. The Nordic countries could cooperate with the Baltic States also in the development of second generation biofuel. The small areas of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania make them excellent biofuel testing platforms. In autumn 2009 the NCM launched an energy-saving experiment where it asked two families with small children to measure their energy consumption for a month and then try to save as much energy as they could for another month. It appeared that even the easiest saving plan may prove to be rather difficult after all. For example, transferring to energy-saving light bulbs is a cumbersome process as user support for new technologies is insufficient. Large families whose expenditure is high should be among the first to plan how to save, but they may simply not find the time to do it – it all takes a lot of time and independent research. The families used many easy tricks and also tried to implement more complicated technological solutions. The family in Tartu managed to reduce their electricity costs by almost 200 kroons a month without giving up any of their conveniences. We also cooperate with several institutions in Estonia that work on climate, environmental and energy issues. For example, we organised a seminar with the Estonian Institute for Sustainable Development (Tallinn Centre of the Stockholm Environment Institute) whose goal was to assess the readiness of local governments to deal with the problems caused by climate change and discussed how the Aalborg Treaty could help us face challenges. We will pay more attention to environmental markings in 2010. In order to do this, we organised a seminar in cooperation with the Swedish Embassy and the Estonian Office of the European Commission in November 2009 where the environmental representative of the NCM Mats Ekenger introduced the Nordic environmental marking, a green swan, and how the Baltic States can use and benefit from it. On 8 December 2009, the second day of COP15, we organised a press conference in cooperation with the Danish Embassy in Estonia and the Estonian Ministry of Environment where the Estonian Minister of Environment Jaanus Tamkivi gave the press an overview of the standpoints of Estonia at climate discussions and Ambassador of Denmark to Estonia Mr Uffe Balslev introduced the organisational side of the conference and the current status of the discussions. We drew attention to the joint efforts of the Nordic countries in fighting climate change. The institutions, organisations, companies, non-profit organisations, officials, etc., who deal with climate, environmental and energy issues can apply for grants from the different support programmes of the Nordic countries that also extend to Estonia.
Norden and COP15 – United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, 7-18 December 2009 The NCM is not an official participant in the discussions of the new UN climate agreement, because each Nordic country represents itself. However, the NCM and its approximately 15 offices will be visible and audible in Copenhagen and they will do all they can to raise public awareness of climate change, its impact on society and nature, and to emphasise the importance of international cooperation.
Another issue highlighted by the NCM is the difference impact that climate change has had on men and women. For example, hunters in Greenland used to belong to the elite for centuries, but now they have sunk to the bottom as the warming climate has reduced the hunting period by a month and hunters cannot go on ice if it's less than six centimetres thick. Manu Inuit families have lost their source of income, men are depressed and tend to become victims of alcoholism. Women are forced to look for paid jobs. In the past, they used to sew clothes from the hides brought by the men, but all this has changed. The wages paid to the women are small and the quality of the clothes the hunters have to wear is lower than before and they offer less protection from the cold. Finland is one of the countries that participates actively in the negotiations and tries to introduce a reference to the issue of gender in the agreement. The text supported by Finland and other Nordic countries is: The full integration of gender perspectives is essential to effective action on all aspects of climate change, including adaption, mitigation, technology sharing, financing, and capacity-building. The advancement of women, their leadership and meaningful participation, and their engagement as equal stakeholders in all climate-related processes and implementation must be guaranteed. Finland has also contributed financially to the initiative that supports the participation of women from 23 of the poorest countries of the world in the Copenhagen negotiations. Other Nordic countries – Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark – are also in support of linking equality and climate. Impact of Climate Change and Adapting to the Change Whilst Southern Europe has to face bigger droughts and heat waves in summer as a result of the climate change then the problems that trouble Northern Europe are invasion of new species, faster growth of plants and a milder climate, meaning that The research commissioned by the NCM shows that the growth period of plants, for example, starts earlier and ends later. The growth period lengthened by an average of four weeks from 1982 to 1999. Climate change has caused trees to blossom early, including the birch which now blossoms 10 to 26 days earlier, which causes problems for people with allergies. The fact that polar bears are threatened by extinction is a generally known fact and the population of the Arctic fox has also decreased drastically – probably both due to global warming and the invasion of the red fox. The public has paid a lot of attention to global warming and the resulting melting of the ice. "We should be paying more attention to the consequences of these changes," said Elisabet Gustad, Director of the Nordic NordForsk research institution. "The natural resources of Nordic production systems have been strongly affected." Fishing, forestry, agriculture and food industry are all under threat. The changes in the Nordic region have been the most drastic in the Arctic. The melting of the Greenland ice creates vast potential for hydroenergy, which makes this autonomous region attractive for energy-intensive industries such as aluminium production. The Government of Greenland has asked the Nordic Centre for Spatial Development (Nordregio) to study how an increase in industry would affect the social structure of the region. Green Energy Nordic countries produce 63 percent of all electric energy used from renewable energy resources by the end of the first decade of the 21st century.
Norway, Sweden and Finland are successfully using their hydroenergy options – they catch the energy generated by waves as well as the streams in the ocean. Iceland, which is known for its geysers, is an expert in the use of geothermal energy. The energy generated by geysers is used to heat water in households and for producing electricity. Bioenergy is also widely used in the Nordic countries where biogas is produced from different organic materials and waste. Research "Energy is the elixir of our economy, but it is also the main producer of greenhouse gases," notes Anne Catherine Gjærde, Director of the Nordic Energy Research Institute. The prime ministers of Nordic countries launched the Top-level Research Initiative in 2007 in order to stop environmental pollution and global warming and to become independent of non-renewable energy sources. It is the biggest common research and innovation programme in the Nordic countries and consists of six sub-programmes:
The NCM has allocated DKK 400 million to this extensive research for five years. In order to combine the research efforts of Nordic scientists for the achievement of a better result, the Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) financed the project Nordic Environmental Technology Solutions, which brought together more than 600 companies from the entire region. It shows that people in the Nordic countries are convinced that the future belongs to environmental technologies. The Nordic Genetic Research Centre (NordGen) that collects the genetic data and seeds of plants, also plays a role in combating climate change. Smart use of the genetic databank may also help to prevent greenhouse gases reaching the atmosphere. For example, it is possible to determine the species which reduce the use of fossil fuels in fertilisers, says Director of NordGen Jessica Kathle. Genetic diversity can also be used in the development of the new generation biofuel. Funding The Nordic Development Fund (NDF) has been focussing on supporting improvement of the climate technology of 27 of the poorest countries of the world instead of giving long-term loans. The fund supported climate investments in emerging countries in Asia, Africa and South America with 14 million euros in autumn 2009 alone.
The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) is currently supporting about 350 small or medium-size projects that reduce the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere either directly or indirectly. These investments have mainly gone to Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus. Attempts to combat climate change and adapting to the changes caused in the living environment require money in both the good and the bad times, emphasises the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), whose activities cover both the Nordic countries and the Baltic States. The International Energy Agency estimates that investments made into renewable energy in the world decreased by two-thirds from 2007 to 2008. "Everyone knows that inactivity increases costs in the future, but many governments, companies and money sector institutions tend to focus on surviving in the short run," admits Director of the NIB Johnny Åkerholm. It is important to understand that environmental projects are long-term investments. By now, the NIB has lent more than a billion euros to projects whose goal is to mitigate climate change and adapt to the new circumstances, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Environmental loans currently comprise 20 percent or 2.8 billion euros of the NIB's loan portfolio. Among others, the NIB has invested in the innovative Carbon Credit Fund whose goal is to develop the carbon quota market after the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 and to support initiatives that reduce emission of greenhouse gases. The NIB has also allocated 500 million euros to HELCOM projects, which should result in the restoration of the ecological condition of the Baltic Sea by 2021. Eco-labelling of the Nordic Countries
The annual turnover of the Swan is about DKK 60 million and using the marking gives work to about 70 people who administrate its use. License fees and application charges comprise 60 percent of the swan's budget. Products marked with the Swan can also be found in Estonian shops. A product must meet certain criteria that depend on the product itself before it is given the Swan marking. The criteria are generally as follows: - does not contain substances that damage the ozone layer; |
