In a landscape covered by ice and snow a small community is battling their identity. The coal mines brought life and people to Svalbard, but after a hundred years with mining the consequences of climate changes is more visibly on the islands than anywhere else on the planet.
The temperature is rising and the ice that have always covered the fjords in winter are not common anymore. The ice is melting, and with it the habitat and hunting grounds for the polar bears. Climate change scientist have moved in, and now only one coal mine is left in a society build upon coal mines. The worlds most northern city, Longyearbyen, is at a crossroad. No coal mean no research in climate change. And no change means climate change.
Audun Salte yells for his pack leader. He owns 114 dogs, but only one roams freely, and helps handle the others. One of the most popular tourist experiences on the islands is dog sledding. But with the high demand, Audun has chosen not to expand his business. Instead he focusses on turning it into the first CO2-neutral tourist business on the island.
700 meters below the icy mountain side Egil (left) checks the soccer results on the computer. The breakroom is the only place in the mines with internet. Egil is 16 years old, and is the youngest of the people working in the coal mines. It is hard physical work, as you are not able to stand up straight in the narrow mines, but he doesn’t mind. He is one of the few teenagers on Svalbard who is born on the island.
More than seven kilometers deep in the mine, the black coal is flashing as the headlamps from the workers hit the walls. They still dig deeper every day in an inferno of dust, heavy machinery and darkness. Svalbard has some of the cleanest coal in the world. The mine produces 120.000 tonnes each year. It is the backbone of the economy on the island. But the big climate sinner as well.
A student at the new folk high school touches the side of a melting glacier. The folk high school is the first school in Norway dedicated to fight climate changes. It’s located in the old mining barracks in Longyearbyen and is home to 40-50 young students. 60% of Svalbard is covered by glaciers. Due to climate change, more landslides and avalanches are more common.
There are more polar bears on Svalbard than people. By law you are forced to carry a gun when you leave the city limits. Due to climate change, the polar bears are getting more desperate and more and more often seeks into the city to find food. It only takes a polar bear four seconds to attack from 50 yards, therefore the locals train their shooting skills at the shooting range to feel safe, when leaving the city.
Tourism is booking on Svalbard. Big cruise ships with 4000 people is visiting often in the summer. Only about 1800 people live in Longyearbyen. The big ships pressure the wild life, but brings money to the island. “People want to see the artic before it disappears,” tells Audun Salte as he nurses one of his sled dog.
800 meters behind the folk high school is one of the smaller glaciers of Svalbard. The students trek op to study it, and learn how to navigate and move safely on the ice. Svalbard is experiencing one of the fastest temperature changes in the world, and the glaciers become more dangerous than before.
The mayor of Longyearbyen wishes to shut down the coal mine to bring down the CO2 contamination. But the mines is the biggest business on the island and without it a lot of jobs will disappear. The people of Svalbard emits 78 tonnes of CO2 per capita. Compared to an average of 9 tonnes per capita in Norway, there is room for improvement but at what cost for the community.
Climate scientist Mads Forchhammer has been studying the rapid climate change on Svalbard. In 2015 he lost friends in an avalanche due to the unpredictable weather conditions. "It was a direct consequence of climate change. Never before had we experienced such downpour during the winter."
At the local shooting range close to the airport everyone living on Svalbard with out a gun licence must take classes in how to use a rifle in the wild.
The local football field is mostly used in the summer, but the school stil uses it for sports. It is lit by projectors, as the sun does not rise for two and a half month a year.
All fresh food on Svalbard is flown in from the mainland. A project run by Benjamin Vidaros is trying to grow fresh herbs and greens in a lab located near the edge of town. The purple light glows in the darkness, and inside a small step to a more environment friendly meal is being developed.