Melissa Nacke, AECO's Head of Operations, manages the Climate Change project that just received NOK 600 000 from
Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund. Photo: AECO
AECO’s Climate Change project received over half a million Norwegian crowns when Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund distributed their grants for this year. The money will be used to support efforts to reduce emissions from the expedition cruise industry.
– It’s really fantastic! Even though our industry is not a major contributor on a global scale, it’s still our responsibility to mitigate our impact. Since we operate where climate change is happening three times as fast as the global average, we also see the impact of it so profoundly, says Melissa Nacke, AECO’s Head of Operations, who manages the project.
The amount of NOK 600 000 will be used to develop a climate strategy which will commit AECO members to emissions reduction targets, and a guidance on how to meet them. The strategy will also involve members in greenhouse gas audits.
– We are in the early stages of this project that aims for net zero emissions from the expedition cruise industry and this funding is a great help for us to continue to promote the practice of environmentally responsible private‐sector travel, says Frigg Jørgensen, Executive Director of AECO.
The first stage of the project will include a survey to gather information from the expedition cruise operators on their current emissions and reduction goals. The results will help AECO get a better understanding of the current status in terms of members’ climate action efforts and identify what could accelerate the industry’s collective approach to climate change.
The total amount of NOK 9 million from Svalbard Environmental Protection fund were handed out to 27 different environmentally oriented projects among 44 applicants. AECO is proud to receive a significant part of this allocation to the Climate Change project. The fund receives its income through the environmental fee that all of Svalbard’s visitors pay.
Contact
AECO’s Communications department: aeco@aceo.no
