The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of May 6, 2019
Arctic Council Ministerial: Dampened Rovaniemi Spirit(s)?
On May 7, the Arctic Council hosted its biennial Ministerial meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland. It marked the end of the Finnish Chairmanship and it was handed over to Iceland. The meeting saw minister-level representatives from all Arctic states, delegations from the Council’s six indigenous Permanent Participant organizations, and the Chairs of the Council’s six Working Groups. Among the achievements of the meeting was the approval of a new observer, the International Maritime Organization, and the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the Arctic Economic Council, as well as the Arctic Climate Change Update 2019, the State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, a Desktop Study on Marine Litter including microplastics in the Arctic, and the Expert Group on Black Carbon and Methane Summary of progress and recommendations 2019. The Joint Statement is now available on the website of the Arctic Council. In contrast to previous years, there was no joint declaration reached this time due to internal disagreements (NYT, HNN, Arctic Council).
Take 1: The Ministerial meeting was a peculiar one, indeed. It saw some clear shifts in Arctic states’ national visions of the Arctic. Perhaps the most surprising one was the rejection of the US Secretary of State Mark Pompeo to include the words “climate change” into the final text of the declaration. In his eloquent unannounced speech, he took a rather unusual stand for the Arctic Council stakeholders by referring to “a new age of strategic engagement in the Arctic”, “new threats to the Arctic and its real estate, and to all of our interests in that region”, as well as to the notorious “untapped resources”, which “are the subject of renewed competition”, primarily with Russia and China. What audience did Mr. Pompeo imagine when delivering his monologue one feels the urge to ask? This “frontier” talk contradicts the fundamental principles of cooperation within the Arctic Council: environmental protection, sustainable development, and articulated refusal to discuss any military or strategic questions. Except the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway who found the American gesture unsurprising, most of the participants met Mark Pompeo’s speech and the failure of the joint declaration with confusion and irritation. The president of the Inuit Circumpolar Circle called it a “moral failure”, which sounds like a decent evaluation of what happened behind the stage in Rovaniemi. Hopefully, the Icelandic chairmanship will see positive changes in this matter (EOTA, FT, Over the Circle).
The official response of The Arctic Institute can be found here.
The Irresistible Appeal of Modernity: Arctic Railway Revived
On May 9, breaking news came from Rovaniemi. The Arctic Railway project, recently condemned by the Finnish-Norwegian working group to be economically unviable, was revived at the Arctic Economic Forum, which took place right after the Arctic Council Ministerial. Finland’s Finest Bay Area Development and Norway’s Sør-Varanger Utvikling signed a memorandum of understanding on the railway planning and implementation. As both parties noted, further steps will include attracting start-up companies and negotiating the decision with the local indigenous communities (HNN, Yle, Reuters).
Take 2: When the Arctic Railway got a red light by the Finnish-Norwegian working group at the beginning of February this year many experts thought it was postponed indefinitely. No such luck. The advocates of the railway managed to find the funding and seem to be firmly confident in the future of the project. The local indigenous communities, however, openly oppose the ambitious construction of this invasive infrastructure, which will cross several herding areas on its way to the “gold bearing” Asian markets. Interestingly enough, the ministerial report mentioned that “in order to be able to launch the planning, a political decision on the implementation of the project would have to be made in both countries”. One might wonder whether there was any such decision made behind closed doors to push through the Arctic railway project this time. In any case, what we see coming is the unfolding of another enduring indigenous resistance struggle for their – and our – lives and future on this planet (Greenpeace, The Ecologist).
Anchorage Ready to Release its Climate Action Plan
On May 7, the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, unveiled its Climate Action Plan. It is intended to help the city mitigate the effects of rapid climate change and develop its low-carbon future. According to Shaina Kilcoyne, Energy Efficiency Director from the Renewable Energy Alaska Project, who works for the city on energy and sustainability issues, the primary goal is to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, even though it might sound quite ambitious. What still remains, is the consent of the Assembly, which is going to be voted on May 21 (EOTA, Municipality of Anchorage, KTUU).
Take 3: Cities all over the world, big and small, have recently been adopting climate action plans to cope with climate change on the spot. Alaska’s Anchorage is no exception in this case. In contrast to the Trump administration’s shameful ignorance of climate change and political unwillingness to take state responsibility and action, the local governments and communities have developed their own ways of securing their future, being well aware of the consequences of any further delay. The plan is the outcome of year-long negotiations among city leaders, research and business experts, as well as residents, which had a chance to participate and contribute to the discussion. When approved, the plan will definitely mark a new and significant step in the city’s sustainable development.
Iceland’s Outright Ban on Plastic Bags
On May 6, the Icelandic Parliament passed a bill banning single-use plastic bags. Starting from July this year, the stores in Iceland will not be able to sell plastic carrier bags to their customers anymore. A total ban on plastic bags will come into force in 2021 (Iceland Review).
Take 4: One may definitely congratulate Iceland with this significant political decision, taken unanimously and in a timely manner. The movement in favor of banning plastic bags began with Icelanders’ petition to the Minister for the Environment in 2016, followed by the parliamentary proposal of the Social Democrats the year after. Now, holding the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, Iceland sends a clear message to its Arctic partners stating its inexorable intention to not only draft climate policies but take real climate action.
Spitsbergen’s One and Only Robbery Case Closed
On May 8, the Norwegian edition of The Local reported that Maxim Popov, a 29 year old Russian citizen, was sentenced to fourteen months in prison in mainland Norway. In December 2018, he attempted to rob a local bank and stole 70 000 kroner (€7,140), but was immediately arrested by the police (The Local, BBC).
Take 5: The moral of the story is, do not rob the only bank in town. It does not take that long to get caught in the act in Longyearbyen, one of the northernmost cities with a population of two thousand people. As reported by the police, Mr. Popov had serious psychological issues and intended initially to commit suicide, which influenced the final verdict. One thing is certain: the living conditions in Norwegian prisons are much better than in Russian ones. So let us hope he sooner or later recovers from his trauma, and so do the witnesses of this unlucky robbery.