Arctic

A new study expects summer sea ice in the Arctic to shrink from 2.8 million square miles to a mere 620,000 square miles within 30 years. Average autumn temperatures for 2005-2008 were 5 degrees Celsius above what had been predicted for the year 2070. Conducted by scientists from the Joint Institute for the Study of […]

The State Department sent out a press release today detailing the upcoming first-ever joint session of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and the Arctic Council. The meeting will be held on April 6 in Baltimore, Maryland, marking the start of the 32nd Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). The ATCM will take place during the fiftieth […]

Overview Last week, the Russian Security Council released details of how it will conduct its Arctic policy through 2020 and beyond in a document entitled, “The fundamentals of Russian state policy in the Arctic up to 2020 and beyond.” (original document here, in Russian). Developing the Arctic is one of the Kremlin’s priorities, which is […]

Today’s edition of the New York Times features an editorial co-authored by Scott Borgeson and Caitlyn Antrim. Borgeson is a visiting fellow on ocean governance at the Council of Foreign Relations, while Antrim is the executive director of the Rule of Law Committee for the Oceans. The crux of their argument is this: Before the […]

Last Monday, the head of the political section of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa appeared in front of the House of Commons Defense Committee. As expected, Dmitry Trofimov had harsh words for the Canadian government’s reaction to the February 18th Russian jet exercise conducted 200 kilometers outside the border between the Yukon and Alaska. He […]

The University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies has posted a national video conference discussing Canadian policy in the Arctic. Presented by the Canadian International Council, the conference, entitled “Use It or Lose It: What’s Next for Canada’s Arctic Policy?”, brought together Canadian politicians, historians, and Arctic experts to discuss the future of the […]

The head of the Political Section of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa has been summoned to appear before the House of Commons Defense Committee on Monday. Canadian Members of Parliament will ask Dmitry Trofimov to shed light on Russia’s military policies in the air and sea near the border of Canada’s claimed Arctic territory. Last […]

A team of scientists from Denmark and Canada are preparing to map out the Arctic Ocean with the eventual goal of extending their countries’ territorial reaches. The researchers have already set up a base camp at Ward Hunt Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island, Canada’s northernmost piece of land. Expeditions will also set out from Greenland, […]

The five signatories of the Polar Bear Agreement will meet for the first time since signing the treaty in 1973 to discuss how to save the polar bear. Representatives from Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the U.S. will attend the The International Meeting Under the Polar Bear Agreement in  Trosmø, Norway, beginning today. When the […]

At the “New Chances and New Responsibilities in the Arctic Region” conference currently underway in Berlin, the European Commission’s representative for Fisheries and Maritime Opportunities outlined the EU’s objectives in the Arctic. In his speech (transcript here, in English), entitled “Opportunities and responsibilities in the Arctic Region: the European Union’s perspective,” Joe Borg reiterated the […]

Germany may not have an Arctic coast or Arctic claims, but the country’s Federal Foreign Office will play host to an international conference on the High North from March 11-13. The conference, called “New Chances and New Responsibilities in the Arctic Region,” will be hosted with the cooperation of the Foreign Ministries of Denmark and […]

A scientist at the Centre for Northern Studies at Laval University in Quebec has reported that the Arctic could be free of summer sea ice by 2013 (Reuters). In 2004, scientists from eight Arctic nations working on the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a study commissioned by the Arctic Council, found that the sea ice could […]