One Arctic: Shared Opportunities, Challenges and Responsibilities

The United States assumed the two-year rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council on April 24, 2015. Given the increased strategic importance of the region, the next two years offers the United States an unprecedented opportunity to make significant progress on our Arctic policy objectives, which were first laid out in the National Strategy for the Arctic Region released by the White House in May 2013 and followed by an Implementation Plan [PDF] in January 2014.

The U.S. will be chairing the Arctic Council at a crucial moment when the effects of climate change are bringing a myriad of new environmental, human and economic opportunities and challenges to the Arctic. During the U.S. Chairmanship, the State Department will focus the Arctic work it carries out through the Arctic Council, various international scientific cooperation mechanisms and, in some cases, domestic initiatives led by U.S. states or other U.S. government agencies. The three thematic areas of the U.S. Chairmanship are: improving economic and living conditions in Arctic communities; Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and addressing the impacts of climate change. The theme of the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council is “One Arctic: Shared Opportunities, Challenges and Responsibilities,” which recognizes the peaceful and stable nature of the Arctic. The U.S. chairmanship will conclude in spring 2017 with a Ministerial meeting in Alaska, at which point the United States will hand the chairmanship to Finland.

To guide U.S. engagement on the Arctic during this crucial period, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appointed the former Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., as the first-ever U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic in July 2014.

The U.S. has developed an ambitious and balanced program for its Arctic Council Chairmanship that focuses on three crucial areas: improving economic and living conditions; Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and addressing the impacts of climate change.

1. Improving Economic and Living Conditions in Arctic Communities

Remote Arctic communities face a number of threats to the health and well-being of their citizens, including food and water security, safe water, sewer and sanitation, affordable and renewable energy, adequate mental health services, and the need to ensure the continued economic viability of their communities.  

Our work in this area will aim to:

• Promote the development of renewable energy technology, such as modular micro-grid systems, to spur public-private partnerships and improve energy affordability;
• Provide a better understanding of freshwater security in the Arctic, including through the creation of a Water Resources Vulnerability Index; 
• Coordinate an Arctic-wide telecommunications infrastructure assessment to promote the build-out of commercial infrastructure in the region;
• Support mental wellness, including suicide prevention and resilience; 
• Harness the expertise and resources of the Arctic Economic Council to inform the Arctic Council’s work on economic and living conditions; 
• Mitigate public health risks and reduce black carbon output in Arctic communities;
• Promote better community sanitation and public health by facilitation collaboration between industry, researchers and public policy experts to increase access to and reduce the operating costs of in-home running water and sewer in remote communities.

2. Arctic Ocean Safety, Security and Stewardship  

The acceleration of maritime activity in the Arctic increases risk in an already harsh and challenging environment.  U.S. Chairmanship priorities include building upon existing preparedness and response programs; enhancing the ability of Arctic states to execute their search and rescue responsibilities; and emphasizing safe, secure, and environmentally sound shipping as a matter of high priority.  To ensure that future maritime development avoids negative impacts, particularly in areas of ecological and cultural significance, the Arctic Council is also continuing its work towards a network of marine protected areas and enhanced international cooperation in the Arctic Ocean.  Ocean acidification is one of the most urgent issues facing the world’s ocean today and the Arctic Council is responding by supporting research to improve the capability to monitor and track acidification in the Arctic Ocean. 

Our work in this area will aim to:

• Better prepare those responsible to better address search and rescue challenges in the Arctic; 
• Ensure marine environmental protection, including working toward the establishment of a network of marine protected areas;
• Explore the creation of a Regional Seas Program of the Arctic Ocean; 
• Create a better understanding of Arctic Ocean acidification and its effects on Arctic organisms and the economies that rely on them;  
• Encourage all parties take the steps necessary to allow for the proper implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution, Preparedness and response in the Arctic.

3. Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change

The impacts of climate change affect the Arctic and the many people, wildlife, and plants that depend on the region for survival. The United States recognizes that we need to reduce black carbon (soot) and methane emissions, which disproportionally impact the Arctic. The Arctic Council is addressing the impacts of climate change by facilitating cooperation on action to reduce black carbon and methane emissions. Arctic Council activities to enhance access to adaptation and resilience tools, and promote the development of climate change indicators and high-resolution mapping are also priorities of the U.S. chairmanship that will increase scientists’, communities’, policymakers’ and the public’s understanding of the impacts of climate change.  

Our work in this area will aim to:

• Target short-lived climate pollutants through reductions in black carbon and methane emissions; 
• Support Arctic climate adaptation and resilience efforts including the creation of an Early Warning Indicator System; 
• Create a Pan-Arctic Digital Elevation Map that will increase our understanding of the impacts of climate change on shorelines and surface areas in the Arctic.