Carbon Neutral Cruising With Aurora Expeditions

Carbon Neutral Cruising with Aurora Expeditions

By Anne Kalosh

Aurora Expeditions has been certified 100 percent carbon neutral and plans an Antarctic Climate Expedition in 2023, led by renowned oceanographer and conservationist Dr. Sylvia Earle.

The trip will take place aboard Earle’s namesake ship, Sylvia Earle, set to debut for Aurora in 2022.

Australia-based Aurora offers expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica, Europe, North America, Latin America and Oceania/Asia. It markets to international clientele.

Carbon Neutral Cruising Follows Lindblad & Ecoventura

Aurora became the latest small-ship operator to go climate neutral, following such companies as Lindblad Expeditions in 2019 and, in 2006, Ecuador’s Ecoventura, which sails in the Galápagos Islands.

Aurora achieved full carbon neutrality in partnership with South Pole, an emission reductions project developer and global climate action expert.

The company calculates all greenhouse gas emissions across its business operations annually then compensates for these by purchasing carbon credits related to climate action projects that it said meet the highest international standards.

carbon neutral cruising with Sylvia Earle

Expedition ship Sylvia Earle, debuting in 2022, sports the distinctive Ulstein X-BOW. * Rendering: Aurora Expeditions

Wind Farm & Conservation Project

Aurora invests in InfraVest Tongyuan Wind Farm, a renewable energy project in northwest Taiwan that harnesses wind power. And it supports Mount Sandy Conservation on South Australia’s Limestone Coast that promotes conservation partnerships between the traditional Ngarrindjeri landowners and non-indigenous Australians through conservation work.

The program protects a regionally and culturally important pocket of biodiversity-rich land where animals and plants flourish undisturbed. Native plants for revegetation are supplied by the local nursery at Raukkan Aboriginal Community, a self-governed Indigenous community 50 kilometers northwest of the project site. Raukkan community members are also employed for onsite works, including vegetation monitoring, fencing and pest and weed control.

Actions Beyond Carbon Offsets

Carbon neutrality is just one of the actions Aurora is taking, according to CEO Monique Ponfoort. Others include shipboard lectures and participative citizen science programs, creating a sustainable food program and championing women in conservation.

Aboard Sylvia Earle, the decks are all named and themed after seven global ocean conservationists, from plastics pollution campaigner Jo Ruxton and coral conservation champion Dr. Carden Wallace to young conservationists Hanli Prinsloo, dedicated to conserving and protecting the world’s oceans through human experience, and Dr. Asha de Vos, marine biologist, ocean educator and pioneer of blue whale research.

Each deck features a curated gallery experience honoring these women and shining a light on their causes.

Explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle Leads the Way

Sylvia Earle is explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society, founder of Mission Blue and Deep Ocean Exploration and Research Inc., chair of the Advisory Council for the Harte Research Institute and former chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

She has led more than 100 expeditions with over 7,000 hours underwater. Her research concerns the ecology and conservation of marine ecosystems and developing technology to access deep sea.

Oceanographer-conservationist Sylvia Earle will lead the Antarctic Climate Expedition on her namesake ship. * Photo: Aurora Expeditions

For the Antarctic Climate Expedition, Earle will headline thought-leaders in the fields of science, art, education and economics. These types, along with inquisitive teenagers and corporate executives, are invited to register their interest in applying to be part of this expedition.

Limited to about 100 travelers from around the world, the by-invitation summit will comprise conservationists, high-profile personalities and ocean luminaries to raise public and government awareness of Antarctica’s splendor and importance.

Aiming for Real Impact

“This will be a climate expedition like no other that can have a real impact on the future of our relationship with life on Earth,” Earle said.

The 12-day expedition starts Feb. 13, 2023, with two nights and a full-day conference in Ushuaia, Argentina, followed by a nine-day voyage on Sylvia Earle, and ends with a post-voyage night in Punta Arenas, Chile.

The expedition route features the Drake Passage, Aitcho Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula, Hope Bay, Brown Bluff, Enterprise Island and Lemaire Channel, among other destinations.

The summit is planned is to address the warming climate and loss of ice in the southern polar region as a direct threat to the future of human life on Earth. It will confront the consequences of environmental change and aims to develop creative strategies to radically reduce carbon emissions. Expedition members will help formulate 23 resolutions to inspire transformative changes for global net-zero emissions by 2050.

Other outcomes will include a series of lectures, a feature documentary, exhibitions and a book.

The trip takes place aboard the ice-class Sylvia Earle with its distinctive inverted Ulstein X-BOW, designed for better sea-keeping and reduced fuel consumption.

It is the sister ship of Aurora’s Greg Mortimer.