“Learning more about the mechanisms involved in climate change and the action required to slow the process and reduce future consequences is one of the key challenges of the 21st century.

There is an urgent need for such action, and yet we still lack much of the information we need to ensure that our action is effective. As a major world energy player, Total is concerned by the climate change issue in many ways. Going beyond our initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of our operations and our products, Total has chosen to take an active part in the public debate on climate change and to partner efforts to gather the data that will help us gain a better understanding of this phenomenon.

Obtaining new data thanks to innovative measurement technologies can certainly advance scientific knowledge in this area and Total is pleased to support the new expedition to the North Pole, to be led by Jean-Louis Etienne. This first field campaign to measure the thickness and extent of the polar sea ice should provide information that will be vital to further research on the ice pack and climate change, to be undertaken as part of International Polar Year 2007-2008.”

Christophe de Margerie
Total's Chief Executive Officer