Point Barrow, at the the northern tip of the state of Alaska, is renouned for its oil activity. This port of call thus presents the opportunity to take a closer look at the question of fossil fuels, in particular oil and coal, and to put these into the context of climate change. Both the oil and and coal industries give cause for concern in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, especially coal, which has seen its production grow in the course of the past few years. This is all the more alarming that, for an equal amount of energy produced, coal is the source of energy that gives off the most CO2 : whereas coal represents 24.4% of the world’s total primary energy supply (against 34.4% for oil), its share in CO2 emissions is nearly identical to that of oil (38.4% for coal against 40.8% for oil).

This stopover will also be the occasion to address action undertaken by decision-makers, as well as industry people, in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions related to these industries, most notably through the setting up of the carbon ‘cap-and-trade’ system.