Viking Magazine - March 2020 - 20

and then going beyond that. By 2040,
Iceland plans to be fully carbon neutral.
The country has big advantages when
it comes to minimizing greenhouse gas
emissions. Like Norway, Iceland gets
the majority of its electricity (75%)
from hydropower. The rest comes from
other renewable sources, especially
geothermal energy. Geothermal
systems also provide almost all of the
country's heating. Carbon-based fuels
(oil, natural gas, coal) don't play a
signifi cant role in Iceland's electrical
and heating infrastructure.
Still, Iceland's greenhouse gas
emissions are relatively high. They
come from sources like transportation,
agriculture, and waste, and the
country's climate plan focuses on
those areas.
Having an abundance of green
energy resources, as Iceland does, turns
out to be a mixed blessing, explains
Henner Busch, a researcher in the
Department of Human Geography
at Lund University and at the Lund
University Centre for Sustainability
Studies in Sweden. Busch studies energy,
climate and the ways communities
are making green transitions locally.
He and lead author and researcher
Rakel Kristjansdottir have looked
closely at Akureyri as a case study and
CARBON FLOWS
IN AKUREYRI
Carbon offsetting
is necessary for
Akureyri to achieve
zero emissions. This
illustration shows the
relationship between
organic waste
management and
fuel production in the
city. The dashed lines
represent potential
connections that are
not currently active.
OCEAN
LOCAL FJORD
SEWAGE
DRAINAGE
SYSTEM
ORGANIC
WASTE
WASTE
FLOW
BIODIESEL
FUEL
they published
their fi ndings
in the journal
" Sustainability "
last April.
As they wrote,
when big systems
like electricity and
heating are already
virtually carbon
free, the " lowhanging
fruits " of
greenhouse gas reduction have already
been " picked. " In other words,
making further emissions reductions is
all the more challenging.
That makes Akureyri's efforts all
the more impressive, Busch says.
" They were able to link systems that
in a bigger city or a wider context are
very diffi cult to link . . . They were
just very creative " in taking a holistic
approach to managing carbon.
Necessity and Invention
What set things in motion a little
over a decade ago was a landfi ll,
specifi cally Akureyri's need to
comply with European Union (EU)
regulations about landfi lls and a push
for a better waste treatment process,
Sigurðarson says. Like Norway,
Iceland is not a member of the EU,
HISTORIC
WASTE
FLOW
LOREM IPSUM
BIOGAS
HARNESSING
CLOSED
LANDFILL
FREE PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION
USED
COOKING
OIL
FISHING
TRAWLERS
RECYCLED
CARBON
FUEL
LOCAL HYDRO STATION
GLERA RIVER
Oil recycling plant
Electric car charging point
TRANSPORT
ELECTRICITY
RECYCLED
CARBON
FUEL
FERTILIZER
DISTRICT
HEATING
FOOD
SUPPLY
CHAIN
PLASTIC
AGRICULTURE
GEOTHERMAL
STATION
LOCAL FOOD
PRODUCTION
WASTE MANAGEMENT
20 VIKING MARCH 2020 sonsofnorway.com
PLASTIC
WASTE
TRANSPORT
RECYCLING
CHARGING
STATION
CARBON
FREE
FUEL
INFOGRAPHIC SOURCE: " TOWARDS A NEUTRAL NORTH-THE URBAN LOW CARBON TRANSITIONS
OF AKUREYRI, ICELAND " BY RAKEL KRISTJANSDOTTIR AND KENNER BUSCH.
GUÐMUNDUR H SIGURÐARSON / VISTORKA.IS
http://www.VISTORKA.IS http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - March 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - March 2020
