OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s state-owned coal company will close its last mine in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago in 2023, it said on Thursday, causing the loss of 80 jobs and ending 120 years of exploitation.

Store Norske Spitsbergen Kullkompani has closed its largest mines on the island over the last two decades. However, the company had maintained the Mine 7 smaller than usual, primarily in order to supply a local coal-fired power station and some exports.

While the Arctic islands are heating faster than anywhere else on Earth, this highlights the dangers to fragile ecosystems due to climate change. Norway has vowed to reduce its emissions but it is still a large oil and gas producer.

SNSK announced that Svalbard’s major settlement will change its primary energy source from coal to diesel temporarily in 2023. Then, it will establish a permanent renewable electricity supply.

Morten Dyrstad, Chief Executive of SNSK stated that “now that the contract has ended to supply the power station there won’t be any basis for operating this mine.”

Mine 7 will boost its annual output by a further 125,000 tonnes from the 90,000 tones it currently produces. This is in addition to taking advantage of higher global prices and boosting exports over the next two years.

The volumes produced are not as large as SNSK’s historic output of many million tonnes per year. Instead, the local economy is primarily geared toward tourism and scientific research.

Svalbard, located approximately 700km (435 miles) north the European continent is under the control of a 1920 treaty that gave Norway sovereignty and allowed all countries to do business in it.

Russia has a coal mine in its Barentsburg settlement that supplies a local power station.