Arctic Council Makes History

May 13, 2011|by Rhonda McBride | Channel 2 News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Eight Arctic nations moved from conflict to cooperation this week at an Arctic Council meeting in Nuuk, Greenland. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who attended the meeting, says there is widespread agreement that more needs to be done to combat climate change and its threat to Arctic peoples.

Murkowski was part of the United States’ delegation, which also included U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

"I think the significance of this particular council meeting," said Murkowski, "is that for the first time ever, you had not only one cabinet member but two cabinet members."

Murkowski says it shows that the United States is stepping up to its role as a leader in the Arctic.

"It might be difficult to convince a person from Iowa that they are part of an Arctic nation, but they are. And we are," she said.

Murkowski says she’ll continue to work to educate her colleagues in Congress about the threats and the opportunities of climate change. She says increased shipping traffic, made possible by shrinking sea ice, needs to be addressed, along with other issues like oil and gas development and oil spill response. And despite the nation’s budget troubles, Murkowski says the federal government needs to spend more to protect the Arctic.

An important advance in that protection came when each of the Arctic nations signed a document pledging to work together to respond to Arctic emergencies and disasters.

“The most important legacy of this meeting, I believe will be the search and rescue agreement, because it’s the first binding agreement of the council,” said Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who also attended the council meeting. “It commits to a series of international exercises, the first one beginning in Whitehorse this fall.”

Treadwell believes the exercises will point to gaps in response capability, such as the need for a Coast Guard base in the Arctic.

The Arctic Council was formed in 1996. It’s made up of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the U.S. Six groups that represent indigenous peoples have permanent status on the council.

Gary Harrison, chief of the Chickaloon tribe and head of the Alaskan Athabascan Council, says, “These are the most productive meetings we’ve ever had. These are landmark decisions, and I think they’re just one of the first to come.”

Contact Rhonda McBride at rmcbride@ktuu.com

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