Arctic Agenda Archives

On a windy August afternoon in 2017, Akitsinnguaq Ina Olsen was relaxing in the old harbour of Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, when a Chinese icebreaker sailed unannounced into the Arctic island’s territorial waters.

A proposed ban on polluting ship fuel in Arctic waters would only eliminate 5% of the most harmful climate-busting emissions due to a raft of waivers and exemptions, a new study warned on Thursday (3 September).

Norway is planning to expand oil drilling in previously untouched areas of the Arctic, a move campaigners say threatens the fragile ecosystem and could spark a military standoff with Russia.

Four years after the EU adopted its Arctic Policy, it is preparing work on a new strategy document. In the meantime, the race for the Arctic accelerates. The EU’s new Arctic Ambassador, Michael Mann, appointed in April, told EURACTIV earlier this …

A year after the US and Denmark butted heads over President Donald Trump's offer to buy Greenland, his secretary of state is visiting the Nordic country on Wednesday (22 July), with Arctic issues at the top of the agenda.

Temperatures in Arctic Siberia soared to a record average for June amid a heat wave that is stoking some of the worst wildfires the region has ever known, fresh EU data showed on Tuesday (7 July).

The United Nations said Tuesday (23 June) it was working to verify reports of a new Arctic record temperature of 38 degrees Celsius in a Siberian town over the weekend. The suspected record temperature was measured in the Russian town of …

Under the helm of the Finnish presidency last autumn, the EU's new maritime and space policies made special reference to the Arctic region, and ministers agreed to update the EU’s Arctic policy strategy drafted in 2016.

Dormant "zombie fires" scattered across the Arctic region – remnants of record blazes last year – may be coming to life after an unusually warm and dry Spring, scientists warned Wednesday (27 May).

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted maintenance at oil and gas projects and refineries from Russia’s Far East to the coast of Canada, storing up problems for an industry already reeling from slumping prices, analysts say.

Europe's tourism industry is bracing itself for an economic impact that could potentially push several countries into recession, as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis on the continent.

Amidst Brexit rubble, Scotland is sporting a newfangled cosmopolitan coat up north, writes Antonio Alcazar. Antonio Alcazar is a researcher at the Central European University’s School of Public Policy. In 2016, Scottish voters decided overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. As if …

Thirteen years after a Russian-led polar expedition planted the country’s flag on the Arctic Ocean sea bed directly under the North Pole, Moscow published its 15-year Arctic masterplan on Thursday (5 March), confirming its growing appetite for the polar region.

Each year, during the Lunar New Year celebrations, a small Arctic Chinatown takes shape near Norway's border with Russia and Finland. It's an indication of how China, though a non-Arctic state, is increasingly eyeing opportunities in the region.

Three years after the EU adopted its Arctic Policy, it is preparing work on a new strategy document. But countries in the region are confused about what the bloc really wants. Last December, the Council of Ministers under Finnish leadership, adopted …

As the world pushes for stronger climate measures to stop the destruction of the Arctic, many countries are also keen to take advantage of the region's new opportunities in shipping, mining, drilling and security.

The Von der Leyen Commission begins its mandate at a time when Arctic geopolitics are at their most important since the Cold War. The EU needs to deepen its engagement in its own Arctic backyard, argue André Gattolin and Damien …

The EU's outgoing Fisheries Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, warned that climate change and biodiversity loss were putting the earth's ecosystems dangerously close to a tipping point, and pleaded for his successor to carry on the International Ocean Governance (IOG) put in place during his five-year mandate.

A ambitious new Arctic oil project led by Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft will require about 10 trillion roubles ($157 billion) of investment, Russia’s deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin told reporters.

The Arctic has lost around 12.8% of its surface area every decade between 1979 and 2018, which is "likely unprecedented for at least 1,000 years" and could shrink even more if no action is taken, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). EURACTIV's partner le Journal de l'environnement reports.

US President Donald Trump’s interest in purchasing Greenland was primarily treated as a joke. In fact, the US is right to see the strategic importance of Greenland and the Arctic. The EU should be no less serious about this vital geostrategic space, write André Gattolin and Damien Degeorges.

US President Donald Trump abruptly called off a weekend trip to Poland on Thursday (29 August), saying he wanted to stay home and make sure the federal government is prepared for a looming hurricane headed for Florida.

The world's largest forests, which include those in the Amazon, Equatorial and Siberian regions, have suffered from severe forest fires this summer. These forests play a key role in protecting the climate, as they are crucial for terrestrial carbon sequestration. EURACTIV's partner le Journal de l'environnement reports.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (20 August) called off a visit to Denmark scheduled for early September after the country’s prime minister rebuffed his idea of purchasing Greenland.