In 2020, the Nordic Council of Ministers initiated a three year project on “Energy solutions for islands and remote areas”. A key element in this work is a network for actors working for green and resilient energy solutions for islands and remote areas – the Net Zero Islands Network. In 2021, the first meeting was held on the Faroe Islands, where members from the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark met.

In October 2022, the network met for the second time, in Nuuk, Greenland, at the conference on green shipping, “The Future of Maritime Fuels”. In May 2023, the network increased further in size with the involvement of Scottish actors that were included based on a meeting arranged together with the Scottish Government and the Shetland Islands Council on the Shetland Islands.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has decided to prolong financing the network until the end of 2025.

Purpose

The purpose of the network is to give the islands and isolated areas the opportunity to:

  • Exchange experiences and research results.
  • Collaborate on analyses, research projects, and applications.
  • Ensure that analyses and research results are transferrable between the islands and that the results become comparable and compatible.
  • Build wider and stronger Nordic knowledge and capacity within small, isolated energy systems.
  • Establish more comprehensive and stronger knowledge and capacity within relevant themes, such as energy storage, smart energy systems, and collaboration with end-consumers.
  • Create a joint profile with increased weight and critical mass in the global energy professional community.
  • Create more substantial basis for increasing the numbers of local entrepreneurs and local employment opportunities.
  • Investigate the opportunities for the Nordic islands to become CO2-neutral or -negative.

The Nordic islands and isolated areas that have come furthest in implementing their CO2-neutral strategies have compiled vital research, academic and technological foundations, and general endorsement of their plans among the local populations. Their inspiring ambitions and work have gained global attention and interest and grant the Nordic islands the necessary prerequisites for becoming leading examples of what can be achieved within the area of carbon-neutral strategies and green transition in general.