Arctic nations agree despite tensions over global warming Climate Change News

Arctic countries are committed to tackling global warming, which is happening three times faster than anywhere else in the north of the earth, and to safeguarding regional peace as its geopolitical importance increases.

Accelerating global warming, untapped resources, new sea routes opened with delayed sea ice and the future of local populations were on the agenda Foreign ministers from Arctic-border countries met in Reykjavik on Thursday.

“We are committed to pursuing a peaceful Arctic region dominated by climate, environment, science and security,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told members of the Arctic Council of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden.

“The article has gained the attention of the world as a region for strategic competition” but a “rule of law” must be ensured so that countries continue to be conflict-free regions that act responsibly, ”he added.

Military maneuvers

The warm climate has opened up the Arctic to ships, fishing, drilling and mining, and China, the Council’s observer, has made no secret of its interest in a land rich in natural resources and backed by sea ice. sea ​​routes.

Meanwhile, Russia has strengthened its military presence in the Arctic – reopened and modernized its abandoned bases since the fall of the Soviet Union – and the United States has stepped up naval exercises.

“It is important that the positive relations we have within the Arctic Council also extend to the military sphere,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters at the meeting.

“We emphasized at the meeting that we do not see any reason for the conflict here. Even to develop the military programs of some of the blocs here,” Lavrov told reporters.

The Russian envoy also said that his country has supported the idea of ​​organizing a summit of Arctic nations during the two-year presidency of the Council.

Lavrov also called for the resumption of regular meetings between workers’ leaders in member countries of the Council.

The annual meetings between the leaders of the armed forces of the Arctic states were suspended in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. Russia has not participated in another forum since 2014, around the Arctic Security Forces Table.

The Arctic Council was created 25 years ago to address issues such as the environment and areas of international cooperation, and its authority explicitly rejects military security.

Climate change

Discussions focused on the impact of global warming on the frozen region.

“The climate crisis is our biggest long-term threat, with the Arctic warming three times faster than anywhere else on the planet,” Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau told the Council.

The worrying data was part of a report released by the Arctic Monitoring and Evaluation Program (AMAP) on Thursday, and also warned that the region’s sea ice is in danger of disappearing completely in the summer before consolidating in the winter.

“We have a duty to strengthen our cooperation for the benefit of people living in the Arctic,” said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) with Greenland Premier Mute Egede and Greenland Climate Research Center scientist Mie Wingding visit Black Ridge sightseeing site in Greenland [Saul Loeb/Pool via Reuters]

At a previous council meeting in Finland in 2019, the Trump administration blocked the signing of a joint declaration for the first time since the council was formed in 1996, refusing to include climate change in its latest statement.

The adoption of the joint statement on Thursday went smoothly, as did the agreement on the 10-year strategic plan for the first time in the Council’s history.

In addition to the Arctic border countries, the Council also brings together six indigenous organizations from the region and six organizations representing 13 observer countries.

Blinken began his four-day tour of Denmark by visiting Greenland directly, and told reporters that the U.S. wanted to make cooperation “even stronger” with Greenland – the territory of Denmark – and that the U.S. could “confirm” it. he was no longer trying to buy.