Defending Us Economic Interests In The Changing Arctic

Any Alaskan can tell you our State is ground zero for the changes apparent in the Arctic today. Sea ice disappearing faster than scientific models have predicted; open seas eroding the coastline and thawing permafrost, undercutting our many villages along the coast. And warm water temperatures are changing the migration patterns of our fish and marine mammals. The opening of this fifth ocean has broad implications for our nation. It's been said there's suddenly a lot more water up there, and it's our responsibility. We need to make sure our nation is prepared to fulfill that responsibility and address the implications for national security, energy development, and increased marine shipping and tourism.

The United States must make protection of its environmental and economic interests in the Arctic a major priority; it needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to accomplish this or face being frozen out by the other Arctic nations. Due to drastic climate change, which has increased accessibility to the region, the Arctic region holds increasingly significant implications for the national interests of the United States. This situation is being influenced mainly by four dynamics: climate change, the economy, sovereignty issues, and the environment. This paper examines the elements of each of these dynamics and their specific implications for the United States. The emerging relevance of the Arctic has substantial promise for the United States and other Arctic nations, especially in terms of its potential energy resources. However, the Arctic also is a unique and vulnerable ecosystem. Endangering such an ecosystem could have global impacts that are not yet known, so rushing into the region without having protective regimes and response capabilities in place would be imprudent and irresponsible. The new and dynamic situation in the Arctic presents the United States with opportunities that go beyond the region, and can be used as a catalyst to begin reshaping world opinion, particularly as it concerns foreign affairs, energy policy, and the environment. By effectively using its instruments of national power, the United States can simultaneously secure its own interests while promoting a cooperative regional approach to the issues of an emerging Arctic region. In doing so, the United States could improve its international reputation and influence the security environment worldwide. The proposed U.S. Arctic Strategy could foster a new atmosphere of cooperation in the Arctic that provides for the sustainable development of its vast economic opportunities while protecting it as a critical environment.

The Arctic is a global bellwether for climate change and indigenous peoples’ rights and traditions, as well as a “health check” on the durability of international laws and norms. Red Artic challenges the widely held assumption that the Arctic is headed for strategic meltdown, emerging as a theater for a literal (new) Cold War between Russia and the West. Buchanan explains that Putin’s Arctic strategy relies heavily upon international cooperation with foreign energy firms and injections of foreign capital: conflict will be bad for business. Russia needs a “low tension” environment to deliver on Russia’s critical economic interests. Red Arctic charts Arctic strategy under Putin from how it is formulated, what drives it, and where it’s going. In cautioning against assumptions of expansionist intent in the region, Buchanan calls for informed judgment of the real drivers of Russian Arctic strategy.

The Arctic, long described as the world’s last frontier, is quickly becoming our first frontier—the front line in a world of more diffuse power, sharper geopolitical competition, and deepening interdependencies between people and nature. A space of often-bitter cold, the Arctic is the fastest-warming place on earth. It is humanity’s canary in the coal mine—an early warning sign of the world’s climate crisis. The Arctic “regime” has pioneered many innovative means of governance among often-contentious state and non-state actors. Instead of being the “last white dot on the map,” the Arctic is where the contours of our rapidly evolving world may first be glimpsed. In this book, scholars and practitioners—from Anchorage to Moscow, from Nuuk to Hong Kong—explore the huge political, legal, social, economic, geostrategic and environmental challenges confronting the Arctic regime, and what this means for the future of world order.

This report examines potential transformations that could alter Russia’s current cooperative stance in the Arctic. It analyzes current security challenges related to climate and geography, economy, territorial claims, and military power, suggests some ways in which these could undermine Arctic cooperation, and offers recommendations for the U.S. government to manage the risks to cooperation.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

This volume brings together multiple perspectives on both the changing Arctic environment and the challenges and opportunities it presents for the shipping sector. It argues for the adoption of a forward-looking agenda that respects the fragile and changing Arctic frontier. With the accelerated interest in and potential for new maritime trade routes, commercial transportation and natural resource development, the pressures on the changing Arctic marine environment will only increase. The International Maritime Organization Polar Code is an important step toward Arctic stewardship. This new volume serves as an important guide to this rapidly developing agenda. Addressing a range of aspects, it offers a valuable resource for academics, practitioners, environmentalists and affected authorities in the shipping industry alike.