20 years of Arctic Council

United States Senior Arctic Official Julia Gourley discussed with DW how the far north is changing in light of melting Arctic sea ice, and conflicts over newly-discovered resources and trade routes.

Deutsche Welle: Why do we need an Arctic Council?

Julia Gourley: It is an important intergovernmental forum. Its membership is limited to the eight Arctic states, which means the eight countries that have land territory above the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic is a place in the world that is suffering from the very rapid negative effects of climate change. So it's a place where the countries come together to talk about the issues that are affecting all of us.

When you look at how the council has changed over the past 20 years, what would you say are the main differences between now and then?

In the early days, the Arctic states focused almost exclusively on environmental protection and science issues. But over the 20 years, the countries have shifted the focus a bit. We spend much more time now on sustainable development issues, which in the Council generally refer to issues that affect the people of the Arctic, in particular the indigenous people.

We look more at some broader issues, like economic development. The effects of climate change mean that there is a lot more human activity in the Arctic now than there was 20 years ago. There are more cruise ships, more offshore oil and gas development. There's no commercial fishing going on right now, but there may be some day as the oceans warm.

Presumably the warming climate and the warming ocean has brought more work for your organization.

Absolutely. There's a lot more global interest now in the Arctic, and therefore in the Arctic Council. We have 32 observer entities now, 12 of which are countries. There are many more in the queue seeking observer status.

How do you react to this new interest in the Arctic from new countries, especially from big players like China?

I think each of the Arctic states has their own views on that, but speaking for the United States, we welcome the interest by non-Arctic states. We feel like we have a lot to learn about how the Arctic affects the rest of the world, and the more countries there are in the room listening to the discussion and learning from it and can contribute to it, the better.

Who ultimately has the say when it comes to shipping, or mining any resources that may yet be found in the Arctic regions?

That depends on the topic. The Arctic Council itself is not a regulatory body. When it comes to shipping, the International Maritime Organization is the regulatory authority all over the planet.

The Arctic states themselves have their own regulatory regimes in their offshore areas for mining, fishing, and shipping - so it's sort of a mix of regulatory activity by lots of different entities.

How is the work of the Council affected when there are tensions between member states, for instance between Russia and the EU or US?

Not very much, I'm happy to say. The tensions in other parts of the world haven't affected the work of the council. We've managed to carve out a space that we can work in collaboratively.

So far I don't think we're too concerned about conflicts. The Arctic is an unusually calm part of the world, it's very peaceful.

The chairmanship of the council rotates among member states, and the US currently holds the chair. To what extent do the interests and political agendas of the chair countries influence what happens in the council?

A bit. There is a broad program of work that the council engages in - that just goes on. That said, the other seven Arctic states give the chair a bit of leeway to shape the agenda and to insert some of their own initiatives. We've done that, and the Canadians before us did it. We expect that Finland after us will do the same.

What are the highlights of the US chairmanship so far?

The eight Arctic states have recently agreed to the text of a new legally binding agreement on science cooperation. We hope it will be completely finalized and ready to sign at our next ministerial meeting in May.

One piece of work that is already having benefits is the first ever guidelines on safety for unmanned aircraft systems for scientific research purposes. It's a fairly new technology to use in the scientific arena, and some of the Arctic Council working groups have been utilizing that technology.

We'll be doing some groundbreaking work on Arctic resilience to climate change, so there will be quite a number of good pieces of work that will be out next May.

Presumably, there are also some developing differences when it comes to striking a balance between preserving the Arctic as it is, and developing commercial and industrial activities.

Yes, that's a real tension. I think that chapter of the Arctic story is still being written. Each Arctic state comes at those questions in their own waters and their own exclusive economic zones differently, and each country's regime is slightly different.

It's of concern in particular to a lot of Arctic indigenous people, who want to live traditionally but also realize that modernity is moving into their world, and in some cases economic development is very necessary to create good jobs and improve living conditions.

If you look to the future, do you feel more optimistic or more concerned about what is happening to the Arctic in our warming world?

I think I feel optimistic in a way. Certainly, the melting that's happening in the Arctic is potentially hugely problematic for the world. I think the science is pretty clear on that front. But when we have countries working together, if we can keep the conversation going, I think we do have room to be optimistic about that area of the world.

Interview: Irene Quaile-Kersken / dk

Since 2005, Julia Gourley has served as the United States Senior Arctic Official, managing the US State Department's Arctic Council portfolio.