Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.04.2007, Blaðsíða 5

08_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 04_007_POLITICS/ELECTIONS
Will Your Party Support the Continued Build-up
of Heavy-Industry in Iceland?
The Government recently
deregulated the power
industry and introduced
competition in line with
general EU regulations and
does not plan to take the
lead in further energy-in-
tensive development as a
result of the new energy
act. Future initiative in this
field will be carried by the
investors, power compa-
nies and local municipali-
ties in direct negotiations
and in accordane with the existing regulatory system. For
decades, the government’s agenda has been to promote
the utilisation of Iceland’s clean and renewable geothermal
and hydropower energy resources in harmony with the envi-
ronment with the purpose of striving for sustainable power
development, diversifying industrial activity, further improv-
ing living standard of the people, stimulating foreign invest-
ments and to enhancing exports. The economy of Iceland
is based on the country’s natural resources. For a long time
the fishing industry has been the backbone of foreign cur-
rency earnings. Now other industry such as energy intensive
industry has brought about diversification, which is benefi-
cial for the economy. Iceland’s future does not depend on
aluminium alone. The emphasis is on well-balanced devel-
opment in all sectors: industry, manufacturing, culture and
services like transportation, finance, tourism and health care.
Iceland has only a few natural resources: the grasslands, the
fish stocks and renewable energy resources. In addition there
are the human resources of 300,000 people. Agriculture and
the fishing industry have exhausted the two first resources to
the extent of stagnation, whereas the energy resources have
only been developed to a limited extent or 17% in terms of
the total electrical power potential. The Government is also
paying much attention to other issues like high-tech industry,
which is expected to grow substantially in the coming years.
Sæunn Stefánsdóttir
The Progressive Party
Ármann Kr. Ólafsson
The Independence Party
Guðmundur Steingrímsson
The Social Democratic Alliance
The primary aim of the
new Iceland Green Move-
ment is to bring to a 4-year
halt all further aluminium
smelter commitments and
allow the current process
of general environmental
awakening to come to the
surface properly here in
Iceland. The general pub-
lic will soon realise what
incredible assets we would
be compromising by con-
tinuing on the same path-
way. We have just completed Kárahnjúkavirkjun, the largest
and most controversial undertaking of all times in Iceland,
and there is absolutely no need to rush into another giant
smelter adventure so soon. In the meantime we have a grow-
ing number of international computer giants looking seri-
ously at Iceland for the purpose of utilizing our green energy
to run their vast power-consuming activities. This should be
taken seriously, partly because this presents a pollution-free
alternative to the aluminium industry, but mainly because the
prices that can be charged for our green electricity are in
this marketplace undoubtedly much higher than the embar-
rassingly low prices the aluminium smelters in Iceland have
been getting away with. Universally marketing the general
concept of Green Iceland is one of the greatest future busi-
ness opportunities we have been granted as a nation. Let’s
not blow it!
Magnús Þór Hafsteinsson
The Liberal Party
Katrín Jakobsdóttir
The Left-Green Movement
No, obviously not. The
Left-Green Movement has
proposed that all further
plans for heavy industry be
stopped. That is the first
premise for social- and eco-
nomic stability; and allows
us room to form a holis-
tic plan for environmental
protection, which will form
a strict frame for further
harnessing of hydro-ener-
gy and geo-thermal power.
Until that plan is available,
all further plans for heavy industry are impossible. The cur-
rent policy of drowning land has to come to a stop. We need
to prioritise with an eye towards nature, assess the value of
protecting Icelandic nature in a local and global perspective
and form a nature preservation plan, along with our obli-
gation to international treaties on air pollution, before con-
tinuing any plans for power plants or heavy industry. This is
why it is strange to hear the current coalition renounce the
heavy industry policy and put on a green coat while plans
are underway to build three or four new smelters along with
the accompanying hydro power plants. Our country is full
of priceless natural pearls and I believe that with continued
discourse on environmental protection, this fact will dawn on
people. Heavy industry projects have already created great
tension in our economic system and to reduce that tension,
lower the inflation, and correct the trade deficit we will need
to revoke further plans for building dams and heavy indus-
try. The current heavy industry policy also bears witness to
the government’s centralised employment policy. Instead,
the Left-Green Movement emphasises that we create fertile
ground for general employment development, especially for
small and medium sized companies and by supporting inno-
vative companies. We want to utilise knowledge and entre-
preneurship and be guided by inventiveness and creativity.
Stopping development in
energy-intensive industry
in Iceland for good is out of
the question. This industry
has created a lot of secure
jobs and delivered a lot of
revenue to our society. On
the other hand, it is time
for Iceland to slow down in
these matters. We need to
cool off the economy after
years of constant develop-
ment. We need to choose
our next steps carefully and
prioritise firmly. This is where politicians have a big role and
they cannot escape responsibility. The Liberal Party believes
it is important to allow areas with rich energy resources to
make use of that within the area. Urban areas should be al-
lowed to enjoy their natural resources. The energy should
not be transported long distances to be utilised somewhere
else. This way, population policy is also assisted, but the Lib-
eral Party believes that strong urban areas are important for
development of Icelandic society in the future. As for utilis-
ing energy, we should look towards geothermal energy over
hydropower energy. Deep surface drilling is possibly an excit-
ing alternative. Obviously, environmental perspectives must
be considered when making decisions on future damming
options. But stopping further development of heavy industry
is not sensible. By doing so we would be diminishing our
possibilities for further employment progression. That is not
an option.
Jakob Frímann Magnússon
The Iceland Green Movement
Samfylkingin wants to
postpone further plans for
heavy industry and energy
until a framework plan for
environmental protection
has been finalised and ap-
proved. Such a framework
is expected to be 5 years
in the making. The plan
would stipulate which ar-
eas to protect and which
areas could be harnessed.
Scientific research on Ice-
land’s nature is lacking, so
there is little basis for forming an informed opinion on the
matter. This needs to change before further actions are taken
for building dams and subsequently heavy industry. Because
a certain chaos seems to surround this issue, it seems obvious
that we need to pull in the reins. Due to the nature of heavy
industry and its magnitude, regarding both environmental
and economic factors, it is clear that better organisation of
the decision-making process is called for, as to where and if
such constructions should be build. Heavy industry can be a
wise alternative under the right circumstances. But we must
also consider that it is not clear if there is room for an in-
crease in heavy industry in Iceland if we intend to honour
our obligations to green house gas omission. It is also highly
disputable whether there is a foundation for further heavy
industry developments in the same manner as the govern-
ment has done, that is, with state guarantees on loans for
the developments and selling electricity at a fire-sale price.
The Social Democratic Alliance believes there are strong
arguments for selecting other ways to strengthen employ-
ment in the country. The party has put forward proposals
to strengthen entrepreneurship, inventive, and high-tech
companies, which have been well received. The party also
believes the best opportunity to develop employment in the
country lies in strengthening the education system.
For a long time, the sim-
plicity of the Icelandic eco-
nomic system was cause
for concern. It was based
on few foundations where
the fishing industry stood
head and shoulders above
other professions. There
was a reason for the lead-
ers of this country to put an
emphasis on strengthening
and further developing the
foundations of our econo-
my. Both of which succeed-
ed. The Icelandic fishing industry is now one of the strongest
in the world and probably the only one that is not subsi-
dised by the government; on the contrary, Icelandic fishing
companies pay an admission fee to the national treasury for
utilising our natural resources. The tourist industry has gone
from being a weak profession operating in a small market,
to being a powerful industry operating around the world.
Multi-national corporations in the fields of pharmaceutical,
finance, and software have been founded. Lately, the en-
tertainment industry has blossomed and there seems to be
no end to that venture. Heavy industry has played a big role
in this transformation and the advancement of the Icelandic
economy. It has bridged the gap between Iceland being a
country of primary production, to being a country of com-
merce and transactions. Given the current conditions, it can
hardly be considered important from an economic perspec-
tive to dive into further developments in heavy industry. Such
decisions need to be made carefully and we are certainly not
missing out on anything if we slow down, since energy will
only become more valuable as the years pass. The Indepen-
dence Party will none the less continue to support sensible
utilisation of our energy resources and heavy industry is one
of the options to consider.
In the build up to the 2007 parliamentary elections, The Reykjavík Grapevine will be asking representitives from each of the political parties to answer questions regarding the most pressing issues.