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Sunday 05.02.2012

Greenland wants it all

Industrial growth and few cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental organisations are disappointed with Greenland's plan to leave mining and petroleum industries out of the country’s emission’s calculations.

“Cuts in non-commercial emissions amount to hardly anything,” said Mikkel Myrup, of environmental organisation Avataq.

The reactions come after the government informed the Danish Climate Ministry that it intends to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by five per cent on 2007 levels during the 2013-2020 period, Sermitsiaq reports.

Emissions stemming from the emerging mining and petroleum industries will not be included.

The plan is to categorize emissions based whether they stem from non-commercial activities or new energy-intensive industries such as aluminium refining.

This will also allow Greenland to sign on to a new climate agreement, but only for non-commercial emissions.

John Nordbo, head of the World Wildlife Foundation’s climate program, called those plans “unambitious."

“Greenland already plans to reduce emission 8 per cent between 2008 and 2012 on 1990 levels. The new plan would only make cuts based on 2007 levels. I’d say the administration is trying to get off easy.”

Categorizing emissions, according to Premier Kuupik Kleist, would allow the administration to help generate enough income to fund an economy free of subsidies from Copenhagen.

“We need to accept that if Greenland is to become economically independent, we need to industrialize. For that reason, we can’t commit to reductions for both mineral industries and energy-intensive industries.”

Kleist said his government hoped to meet its emissions goals by building hydroelectric dams and combined heat and power plants, as well as reducing home energy use and improving the energy efficiency of the fishing fleet.