The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of May 23, 2022
NATO, the Arctic and Forgotten Voices: Peace and Security Beyond Colonization
As reported by the Barents Observer on May 20, the current Russian Arctic Council Chairman has stated in a press conference the future entry of Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could lead to “adjustments” in Arctic cooperations. The chairman did not elaborate on what exactly these adjustments entail. (Arctic Today, The Barents Observer, Eye On The Arctic)
Take 1: The future entry of Sweden and Finland in NATO certainly has changed the flavor of relations within the Arctic Council and beyond. Russia is welcoming Chinese investments, the US federal government is upgrading its Thule Air Base in Greenland, and previously non-aligned nations are now choosing a side. The Arctic seems to have lost its status of peace to become a zone of increased military and defense readiness. At the same time, calls for pacifism might be ill fitted to respond to this aggression. Nonetheless, while nations have the fundamental right to self-protection and defense, one cannot help but wonder about the forgotten voices – the voices that are yet to be heard: the Saami communities stretching across these borders are also bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis, but few are hearing their concerns about the division of the region. The intentional vagueness of these potential “adjustments” adds a certain threatening atmosphere, disregarding the plurality of voices within the Arctic Council who rely on this institution for regional cooperation and development. Is there any solution to this crisis that doesn’t bear colonial undertones? (Cryopolitics, Instagram, McGill, NewPolitics, Saami Council)
Housing Shortages across the Canadian Arctic: Could Tiny Homes Be A Solution?
As reported by Nunatsiaq News on May 24, housing contractors funded by a grant from The Government of Nunavut’s Family Services Department are building CA$20 000 temporary housing units in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, in order to curb its ongoing housing shortage. The tiny homes are made from reused shipping containers, and multiple homes can be built at the same time. The hamlet’s senior administrative officer David Stockley says this will be able to create five or six jobs in the community. (Nunatsiaq News)
Take 2: Access to housing is a major issue across the circumpolar Arctic, but especially forNorth America. Melting permafrost represents an additional challenge to the resilience and costs of building and maintaining existing infrastructure. A little under half of houses in Nunavut require serious repair compared to the 7.1% on average across Canada. The depth of this crisis is reflected by rising levels of housing insecurity and health hazardsNunavut alone requires 3000 new housing units to meet the current demand. But the Pond Inlet tiny home project might be an initiative able to support this demand. While the tiny houses would only be temporary, they could serve as housing for the most in need while more robust and long-term shelter is being built. Pauktuutit, the Nunavut-based Inuit women association, recently called on the need for safe shelters for women and children victims of domestic violence, a resource that 70% of communities across the Canadian Arctic do not have access to.On top of addressing the housing crisis, tiny houses can also be one way to address this dire situation- even if only temporarily. (Arctic360, Bloomberg, Eye On The Arctic, ITK, Pauktuutit)
Green Shift and Blue Energy: A Radical Change of Path for Norway?
As reported by High North News on May 20, the Norwegian Climate and Energy Minister Espen Barth Eide has reiterated support and cooperation with the EU over mutual interests in the ‘Green Shift.’ In his interview with High North News, the minister stated that the “future of the High North does not lie in oil and gas.” He discusses that future regional development will have to take into account emerging trends such as hydrogen, green shipping and modern sea farming. (High North News)
Take 3: As Europe says goodbye to Russian gas, Norway is setting high hopes on becoming the region’s latest supplier of gas and blue hydrogen. While Russia supplies approximately 25% of oil and 1/3 of gas needs in Europe, Norway is Western Europe’s biggest producer. Considering this reality of urgent energy needs in the context of the larger European Union Green Shift policy offers an interesting dynamic of energy development in the region. Oil and gas is most definitely the short-term future of the Norwegian High North, but every barrel of oil consumed is also a contribution to the climate crisis. “Carbon neutrality” will therefore not become a reality anytime soon. From thawing permafrost to irregular weather patterns to ecological breakdowns, the Arctic is facing the dire consequences of a climate crisis caused by human pollution. While the EU is indeed drafting and implementing policies towards a more sustainable future, the ambitionsNorway purports to support, will not permit the continuation of oil-drilling as business as usual. On the one hand championing ‘renewable’ blue energy and on the other sustaining oil and gas production, Norway’s double standard does little in terms of ecological benefit. For future generations to have a chance, oil and gas production and consumption must stop. (Upstream, Reuters)
NORAD, Canada, and Human Security in the Arctic
As reported by CBC on May 21, prominent Inuit officials are calling for the Canadian government to boost security in – and sovereignty of – its Arctic territory. As a response, the federal government has committed an initial $252 million to modernize NORAD as well as reinforcement of cooperation and investments in Indigenous communities. (CBC)
Take 4: The ongoing tensions with Russia, and subsequent freezing of regional cooperation, have somewhat shifted Canada’s priorities in its Arctic territories. Fears of an escalation of the conflict in Arctic waters have prompted local officials to call for a reinforcement of security in the region. It remains to be seen if the conflict will ever truly result in direct confrontation – but the possibility itself is already impetus enough for Canada and the US to reinvest capacity in the High North and Arctic. In addition to the modernization of NORAD, the Canadian federal government has put emphasis on cooperation and economic investment – such as housing and expansion of air communications – in the Arctic region as key to security. In this context, security goes beyond traditional military definitions to encompass human security as well. This expanded definition of security includes building resilience against natural disasters and climate change – a key aspect of capacity building in the Arctic. The initial investment of $252 million is small and insufficient compared to the task ahead, but this shift from traditional military security towards human security does signal a continuation of the legacy of keeping the Arctic a conflict-free zone. (United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security)
The Thule Air Base and Greenland’s strategic geolocation: I Love You, Me Neither
As reported by High North News on May 24, the US government is set to invest billions of dollars to upgrade the aging military Thule Air Base located in Greenland. The planned investment had not been communicated to the Greenlandic and Danish governments prior to the official announcement. (High North News)
Take 5: Security in the Arctic is a hot topic; hot enough apparently to not warrant communication with foreign local authorities when upgrading military infrastructures. Greenlandic authorities are in the midst of building capacity and bolstering their reputation in order to gain sovereignty and independence from Denmark as agreed upon by the Self-Government Act of 2009. The trilateral agreements supporting the establishment of the Thule Air Base by the US military on Greenland’s soil does indicate that prior consultation about “significant changes in operations” with Danish and Greenlandic authorities is necessary even if decisions taken by the US military are not contingent t on their authorization. Perhaps the infrastructural upgrades were not considered significant enough? Sarcasm aside, Greenland has welcomed US investments on its soil – including to its airports – which give it additional infrastructural capacity paving its road (or air space) towards independence. This latest investment in the Thule Air Base also hints at the strategic geographic location of Greenland: tensions on the rise between the American federal government and the Russian government bring about memories of thethe Cold War. Although the US has made clear their investments have “civilian purposes” incombining military strategy with local community and authorities relation-building, the place of Greenland in these political tensions with Russia will certainly warrant geostrategic analysis for the coming months. (Queen’s University, Reuters)