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Nikel on the foreign ministers agenda

Photo: Barentsphoto.com

The still-going-pollution of sulphur dioxide and heavy metals from the smelter in the Russian border-town of Nikel will be on the agenda when the Norwegian and Russian foreign ministers meet in Kirkenes in June.

Location

According to a 2001 agreement between the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, the Nordic Investment Bank and the Norilsk Nickel combine, the air-pollution from the smelter in Nikel should be reduced by 90 percent no later than 2010. If so – Norway will grant 270 million NOK in support to the reconstruction.

Not yet started
In order to fulfil this plan before 2010, the reconstruction work of the fabric should have started no later than April 2008. So far, there are no signs of reconstruction work at any place in the Nikel plant.

Kirkenes-meeting
The Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre assures that the question about what’s going on in Nikel will be on his agenda when he meets with Sergey Lavrov for bilateral talks in Kirkenes on June 9th.

- This is a topic I raise every time I meet with the Russian Foreign Minister, and I will of course also do so again when we meet in Kirkenes, says Støre interviewed by the Norwegian Daily Aftenposten.

Environmental protests
The pollution from Nikel is a “hot-potato” for Norwegian authorities. In the early 90-ties, thousands of inhabitants in the Norwegian border-town Kirkenes participated in environmental protests against the pollution from Nikel. The Norwegian parliament promised to provide 300 million NOK to build a cleaning facility for the – at that time – Soviet smelter. But nothing happened.

In 1996, the Norilsk-Nickel combine was privatized with Vladimir Potanin as the main share-holder.

30 of the 300 million NOK are spent on different pre-design projects, meetings and delegation travel by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment. But today, 18 years after the first Norwegian environmental support money was promised, nothing has happened. The Nikel plant is still one of Europe’s top polluters of sulphur dioxide with an emission of more than 100,000 tons annually.

Withdraw the Norwegian money
In an editorial in the Norwegian Daily Dagbladet, the newspapers editor recommends the Norwegian Government to withdraw all the funding to the reconstruction in Nikel. The newspaper argues that the Norilsk-Nickel combine has more than enough money themselves to rebuild the plant – if they at all care about the environment in this far-remote border region in the north.

Earns most – pollutes most
The two main share-holders and Interros-partners Mikhail Prokhorov and Vladimir Potanin have, according to Forbes Magazine, 225 billion NOK. That is an increase by 90 billion NOK since 2006. This money goes directly into the pockets of the owners, writes Dagbladet.