The answer is that it will benefit the global environment. Manufacturing this aluminium elsewhere with the fossil fuels which power the majority of the world's aluminium smelters would generate many times more greenhouse gas emissions than the energy sources used to produce it in Iceland. This is one of the reasons for the emphasis by the Icelandic Government that the outcome of global climate change negotiations should serve to encourage production using renewable resources. In order to achieve the goal of basing its economy almost entirely on renewable energy resources, Iceland needs to convert its motor vehicles and fishing fleet to be powered by hydrogen. In the course of time the project will be extended to cover other vehicles and the fishing fleet.
Fisheries are still the mainstay of the high living standards that people in Iceland enjoy.
Iceland therefore has no option but to harvest its marine resources on sustainable principles and promote balance in the ecosystem. For us this a question of life and death, so there is no scope for mistakes. Another major issue is the fight against marine pollution, which Iceland has championed in international cooperation involving the oceans. In this respect I am pleased to note the new global convention on persistent organic pollutants, which will be signed by governments in Sweden next month. The Icelandic Government initated this issue nine years ago and encouraged other countries to rally round and start the negotiations for the convention.