Norway Opens Coal Mine on Svalbard Archipelago

Bloomberg reported that although lawmakers in the Norwegian capital of Oslo are considering banning their country’s sovereign wealth fund from investing in coal companies, Norway has nevertheless opened a new coal mine on the Svalbard archipelago.

As quoted in the market news:

‘It’s a very clear sign that coal mining in Svalbard is a desperate act to try to maintain Norwegian activity that they believe is necessary to maintain sovereignty over the island group,’ said Truls Gulowsen, director for Greenpeace in Norway, by phone. ‘It’s not making money, it’s not necessary and it’s extremely bad for the climate.’

Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani AS this week opened a new mine south of Longyearbyen, the main Norwegian town in the Svalbard archipelago. The mine is expected to produce about 2 million tons of coal a year until it’s depleted in about five years. That compares with global output that was almost 8 billion tons in 2012, BP Plc’s annual statistical review shows.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.