The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of 16 January, 2023
Rare Earth Metals Discovered in Arctic Sweden
As reported by BBC News on January 13, over 1 million tonnes of rare earth metals have been discovered at the LKAB mine in Kiruna, Sweden. The difficult nature of the extraction process and the time required for environmental permitting means the newly discovered raw materials may not reach the commercial market for another 10 to 15 years. (BBC News)
Take 1: Rare earth metals have become a critical component in a range of products and infrastructure, including mobile phones, green technology and military equipment, making the deposit a significant development for the EU, which is currently dependent on China and Russia for its supply. The rare earth metals found in the Per Geijer deposit can be used in a range of industrial ecosystems including the manufacture of the permanent magnets needed for electric motors in electric vehicles and wind turbines. Consequently, rare earth metals are a critical raw material for the EU’s green transition, which intends to decarbonise Europe’s energy system by 2050 to achieve the climate objectives outlined in the EU’s Green Deal. However, the cost of securing a European supply chain will be felt most keenly by the Sámi Peoples. The newly discovered deposit is located on the last crossing point used by local Sámi reindeer herders to bypass Kiruna enroute to their winter pastures. Using environmental grounds as a justification for increasing industrial encroachment in Sápmi territory and marginalisation of culture-bearing businesses and lifestyles is a concerning trend in the dismissal of Indigenous rights. To avoid a green transition that exercises green colonialism, proper consultation with Sámi Peoples should take place prior to an extraction process. (European Commission, High North News, Le Monde, The Arctic Institute)
Europe Enters Space Race with Launch of Arctic Space Station
As reported by The Times on January 16, mainland Euopre’s first orbital launch site was officially opened in Kiruna, Sweden last Friday. European Comission president Ursula von der Leyen was present at the event, along with the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden. Spaceport Esrange, which has been in development by Sweden and the European Space Agency (ESA) for several years, intends to launch its first satellite by the end of 2023. The ceremony occurs days after the UK’s failed domestic launch of a satellite in Cornwall and before the planned German satellite launches from the Shetland Islands and Scottish SaxaVord spaceport later this year. (High North News)
Take 2: The Esrange spaceport facility in Kiruna offers an independent European gateway to space.From 2023, the space range will have complete launch capacity for standardized polar orbits of small satellites. Impetus for a space race to advance satellite communication technology is largely derived from the significance of small satellites in modern warfare. The connectivity provided by small satellites has allowed the Ukrainian military to coordinate fire more quickly and mount successful drone attacks against Russia. Smaller satellites orbit the Earth at a far lower level and cover a smaller area, meaning bandwidth per user can be high. Significantly, the polar location of the Esrange spaceport also allows for bigger payloads, which support greater accuracy and reliability as there is less of a pull from the Earth’s spin. However, despite the strategic importance of the new spaceport, the introduction of potentially significant military infrastructure in the Arctic area is problematic for the already strained relationship between Western Arctic Council Member States and Russia, which was expelled from the Council following its invasion of Ukraine last year. Moreover, the risk debris from the new launchpad also raises environmental concerns for communities reliant on the ecosystem of the immediate area. (EU Observer, High North News, The Economist, The Space Review)
Traditional Place Names Project to Map At-Risk Inuit Heritage
As reported by Nunatsiaq News on January 17, The Inuit Heritage Trust’s Place Name Program returned to Resolute Bay for the first time since 2007. The program aims to document elder-experts and their knowledge of the traditional Inuktut place names. For over three decades, the program has been making and distributing free maps to communities across Nunavut. The team is currently working on maps for Kinngait, Clyde River, Arctic Bay and Naujaat. (Nunatsiaq News)
Take 3: The latest published census data indicates Indigenous Peoples account for 49.6% of the total NWT population, yet a survey in 2014 found only 38.5% of territorial residents aged 15 years and over speak an Indigenous language. The decline of Indigenous languages is the result of both the historic structural discrimination of Canadian residential schools and in recent years, the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission argues, a process of systematic neglect. In response to the survey and the 2019 UN International Year of Indigenous Languages, the federal government passed the Indigenous Languages Act in 2019. The Act’s focus on revitalising Indigenous language has led to some Arctic municipalities reverting to their common Inuktut names. The significance of Indigenous place names relates to the intergenerational transmission of traditional knowledge. Indigenous place names are descriptive and provide both cultural insight and important ecological information. With the commencement of the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 and recent federal funding to support Indigenous language in the NWT, it is hopeful that projects such as the Inuit Heritage Trust Place Name Program will be able to adequately preserve remaining traditional knowledge for future generations. (CBC News, Government of Northwest Territories, Nunatsiaq News, UNESCO)
Yukon’s Latest Housing Report Highlights Affordability Issue
As reported by CBC News on January 14, data compiled by the Yukon Bureau of Statistics found that Yukoners who rent or own their homes are paying an average of $68 dollars more for housing every month compared to the federal average. Whilst this number has decreased in the Yukon from previous years, the study found it remains the fourth highest in the country after Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia. (CBC News)
Take 4: The issue of affordability in Yukon’s latest housing report is symptomatic of the larger housing crisis taking place in the Canadian Arctic. Pre-existing housing shortages, housing quality and overcrowding issues have been exacerbated by the economic downturn in the years following the global pandemic. The danger of the Canadian Arctic’s housing situation was laid bare in 2022 when the spread of a tuberculosis outbreak was linked to poor living conditions within northern communities. Canada’s first Federal Housing Advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, has publicly recognised the need for ‘urgent attention’ to the housing crisis termed as an ‘ongoing human rights failure.’ A report containing recommendations from the Federal Housing Advocate and supported by Inuit governments, is expected in March 2023. Whether this pending report will have greater success than its predecessors is unclear. A report authored by the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples in 2017 also highlighted insufficiency of federal investment. The government director of housing in Nunatsiavut noted that the Federal Housing Advocate is not the only federal dignitary to tour the Canadian Arctic’s housing. Developments during the next 12 months will indicate whether the cycle of some investment and some improvement preceding worsening conditions will continue. (CBC News, Global News, Nunatsiaq News, Parliament of Canada)
Hundreds of Alaska glaciers Expected to Disappear by Century’s End
As reported by Anchorage Daily News on January 14, a recent study has forecasted that half of the world’s glaciers will be lost by the end of the century even under the most optimistic temperature scenarios aligned with the Paris Agreement goals. All regions within the study’s dataset are projected to lose some glaciers completely, and the lead author listed two hundred Alaskan glaciers that will be gone by 2100 if the Earth’s average yearly temperature is 4 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels. (Anchorage Daily News)
Take 5: The environmental impact of retreating and thinning glaciers is well documented by researchers concerned with the impact of a warming climate on sea level rise, natural hazards and ecological loss. However, the latest study exploring glacier change in the 21st century predicts considerably higher glacier melt and resultant sea level rise this century than previous estimates. The study finds that collectively, Alaska, the Greenland Periphery, Antarctica and north and south Arctic Canada will account for 60-65% of sea level rise from glaciers by 2100. Concerningly, the study’s projections are based on optimistic temperature increases of 1.5C yet given current climate pledges are failing to meet temperature reductions higher than this, the situation appears likely to be worse. The consequences of deglaciation are not only ecologically alarming, but the loss and damage can also take the form of cultural and spiritual damage for Indigenous communities whose identity is interconnected with the environment. This also raises the question whether increasing glacial ice mass loss will become a feature of the CO27 Loss and Damage Fund, and whether such a Fund may be utilised by Indigenous Arctic Communities. (Carbon Brief, The Guardian, UN Environment Program)