The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) announced that it has received over half a million Norwegian crowns from Svalbard Environmental Fund for its climate change project, according to a statement.

“It’s really fantastic! Even though our industry is not a major contributor on a global scale, it’s still our responsibility to mitigate our impact. Since we operate where climate change is happening three times as fast as the global average, we also see the impact of it so profoundly,” said Melissa Nacke, AECO’s head of operations.

The funding (NOK 600,000) will be used for developing a climate strategy for achieving emissions reduction targets as well as guidance on how to do that, which all AECO members will commit to.

The first stage of AECO’s project will include a survey to collect information from the expedition cruise operators regarding their existing emissions and reduction goals. This will enable the organization to better understand the current status regarding members’ climate action efforts as well as identify possible ways to speed up the process.

“We are in the early stages of this project that aims for net zero emissions from the expedition cruise industry and this funding is a great help for us to continue to promote the practice of environmentally responsible private-sector travel,” said Frigg Jørgensen, executive director of AECO.

The total amount of NOK 9 million from the Svalbard Environmental Fund was distributed to 27 different projects among 44 applicants.