A stronger Arctic Council leads towards a sustainable Arctic

Together, Arctic nations have a lot of work ahead of them towards a sustainable future where climate change will have to be brought under control as we continue to develop our Arctic communities and economies in harmony with the environment.        

Iceland’s two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council came to an end at the Reykjavík Ministerial Meeting in May 2021 with the adoption of the Reykjavík Declaration and a first-ever Strategic Plan. Since the creation of the Arctic Council in Ottawa in 1996, declarations of the biannual ministerial meetings have served as the main tool to highlight the Council’s programs and projects over the prior two years and to lay the groundwork for the next two to follow.

Two years earlier, for the first time in its history, the Arctic Council failed to reach an agreement on a ministerial declaration when the Council met in Rovaniemi in Finland in May 2019. This raised questions about the ability of the Arctic Council to continue to play its role in keeping the Arctic Region peaceful and co-operative and moving forward with sustainable development despite growing geopolitical tensions around the world.

It is thus fair to say that Iceland took over the chairmanship of the Council in challenging circumstances, even before COVID brought all international travel and international co-operation to almost a standstill in the spring of 2020. But the Council quickly adapted its way of working to this new reality, managed to keep almost all its projects on track through virtual means, and, maybe most impressively, was able to negotiate both a strong ministerial declaration as well as a Strategic Plan through online meetings only.

At the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík last October, Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson gave an account of the Icelandic Chairmanship under the headline “Together towards a Sustainable Arctic,” and its four priorities: the Arctic Marine Environment, Climate and Green Energy Solutions, People and Communities of the Arctic, and a Stronger Arctic Council.

The Reykjavík Declaration outlines close to 100 projects that the Arctic Council is now managing and that are tied to one of the first three priorities. Valuable as the ministerial declarations of the past have been in giving short-term direction to the work of the Council, a long-term perspective had been lacking. The adoption of the first-ever Strategic Plan for the Council brings this longer-term view into focus and is key to a stronger Arctic Council.

Any impactful multilateral co-operation looking to lead a coalition of allies needs a long-term strategic plan, for example, to maintain policy continuity over time. The new Arctic Council Strategic Plan 2021-2030 allows the Council and its members to expand its vision and scope beyond the two-year chairmanship term. The 10-year Strategic Plan gives the Council a longer-term mandate to act in unity, lessens its sensitivity to sudden and abrupt policy changes in individual Arctic States, and creates a bridge between chairmanships that facilitates the ongoing work of the Council and its partners.

The plan also outlines shared values and joint aspirations of the eight Arctic States and Indigenous Permanent Participants. To this end, it notes that the Arctic’s four million residents envision the region to remain peaceful, secure, and prosperous for future generations through sustainable development, environmental protection, and good governance. The Strategic Plan also outlines seven strategic priorities: Arctic Climate, Healthy and Resilient Arctic Ecosystem, Healthy Arctic Marine Environment, Sustainable Social Development, Sustainable Economic Development, Knowledge and Communications, and Stronger Arctic Council. Each priority is backed by a series of measures designed to support the achievement of related goals.

The Strategic Plan 2021-2030 reflects the past and the present of the Arctic while providing a vision for the future of the region and its inhabitants. Together, Arctic nations have a lot of work ahead of them towards a sustainable future where climate change will have to be brought under control as we continue to develop our Arctic communities and economies in harmony with the environment. We must keep our Arctic inhabitants at the centre and continue to focus on gender equality, Arctic residents’ parity, and linking traditional knowledge and local knowledge to enrich understanding of the Arctic and to inform science, trade, and investment initiatives. We need good policies for the Arctic, and the Arctic Council is the best, and in fact the only, circumpolar forum to co-operate on such policies.

The Arctic Council will continue to play the constructive role set out 25 years ago in Ottawa in keeping the region peaceful and co-operative, prosperous, and sustainable. Russia has now taken over the chairmanship of the Council with an ambitious agenda and a strong mandate from the Reykjavík Ministerial Meeting grounded in the Arctic Council Strategic Plan 2021-2030. Together with the work achieved under Iceland’s Chairmanship, these elements give the Arctic Council a stronger long-term perspective than ever before.

Article published in The Hill Times on Nov. 3, 2021