Assuming his chairmanship of the Arctic Council at the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut Iqalit, Canada, today, Secretary of State John Kerry warned of economic development turning parts of the Arctic into a desert.
In addition to the U.S. and Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden sit on the Arctic Council, established in 1996. The chairmanship rotates every two years.
“We’re very well aware that the retreat of sea ice in the region brings with it a lot of opportunities, though not everybody sees them in the same context as opportunities,” Kerry said as he acquired the gavel today. “Shipping lanes are already beginning to open, providing jobs and new possibilities for commercial enterprise. But like many of you have stated here, it’s imperative that the development that we pursue is sensitive to the lifestyle and the history that people want to hold onto and also that it’s sustainable, that it doesn’t exacerbate other challenges in the Arctic and around the world, and that we also look way downstream to make sure that when something is extracted and people are finished, they’re not leaving a place as a new kind of desert even in the Arctic.”
“And I think you know what I mean,” he added.
“We believe the private sector has a huge role to play in ensuring that we find the right balance, and we have an enormous role to play with the private sector in making sure that they adopt that role and live it out.”
Naturally, Kerry is placing a heavy focus on climate change in his new role.
“I am particularly pleased by the work that’s gone into the Framework for Action on the Enhanced Black Carbon and Methane Emissions. I’ll discuss this a little bit more in our – as we assume the chair. But I think everybody here has talked about the profound impact that climate change is having on this region,” Kerry said. “The framework we’ve worked together to develop expresses our shared commitment to significantly reduce black carbon and methane emissions, which are two of the most potent greenhouse gasses, and it sets the stage to adopt an ambitious collective goal on black carbon by the next ministerial meeting in 2017. So I very much look forward to implementing this framework over the course of the U.S. chairmanship.”
He added that he’s “grateful for the council’s continued work on longstanding Arctic priorities, including enhancing our preparedness for oil spills and similar disasters.”
“But as we all know, preparing for an oil spill is not enough; preventing an oil spill from occurring in the first place is the first step in any kind of stewardship of the Arctic. And the cooperation that we will pursue through the Arctic Council and other bodies such as the Arctic Offshore Regulators Forum are real steps in the right direction.”
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