Selected Online Reading on Arctic Climate Change and Geopolitics

This book discusses issues of geoecological (GER) and geopolitical (GPR) risks due to hydrocarbon development of the Arctic. The authors explain the ethical and philosophical foundations of understanding environmental equity and justice in relation to the development of Arctic natural resources and consider various approaches to the moral aspects of making global management decisions in the field of environmental protection and environmental safety. Special attention is paid to analysis of modern geopolitical and geostrategic challenges to the development of the Arctic region. The monograph identifies the key geopolitical factors affecting the sustainable development of the Arctic and analyzes the similarities and differences in the geostrategic positions of the five Arctic states.   The authors reveal the need to consider geopolitical challenges in the process of GER analysis for oil and gas development in the Arctic region. The book explores the intersection of the strategic interests for a number of states and describes Russia's inability to ensure environmental safety in the development of Arctic deposits. The book analyzes in detail each type of GER with an emphasis on their potential to lead to additional opportunities and threats, and assesses environmental rating as an indicator of the GER management process of Russian oil and gas companies operating in the Arctic. Although the main focus is on the Russian part of this region, many arguments and conclusions are quite applicable to the entire Arctic region. The consideration of geoecological and geopolitical aspects of the development of Arctic resources with the example of Russian oil and gas companies sheds light on the entire Arctic region, taking into account the interests of all other national and international companies involved in GER and GPR there.

This book explores the Arctic as a rapidly evolving phenomenon in international affairs of a rising number of stakeholders. For decades, Arctic studies used to be an affair of a relatively narrow group of experts from northern countries. This time is over due to a new Chinese Arctic policy, as well as growing regional interests from South Korea, Singapore, India and Japan. Contributors reflect on new roles for the Arctic region: both as a playground for the old school nation state competition and even confrontation, and a new source for international cooperation in energy, logistics and natural sciences. Climate change, political tensions and economic competition make Arctic a hotter venue of international relations. This new Arctic fever, studied through a comparative analysis of different regional agendas, especially with a focus on the US-China-Russia triangle, represents the main subject of our book, which will be of interest to scholars of geopolitics, of climate change, and of 21st century energy economics.

The importance of the Arctic in many fields of human activity strongly increased over the past decades. The academic scientific research demonstrates a 3-fold increase in the number of journal articles dealing with "Arctic": from 1,400 in 2000 to 4,200 in 2018. This increase is not fortuitous but certainly stems from double importance of Arctic regions for humanity. The first importance is the role that the Arctic plays in the on-going environmental changes, mostly linked to climate warming and environmental pollution. Here, the first key issues are the Arctic Ocean, ice melt, permafrost thaw, greenhouse gases emission, and organic carbon mobilization from soils to rivers. From the other hand, highly fragile Arctic ecosystems and biota are strongly affected by environmental pollution, be it organic compounds or toxic metals and radionuclides. The rising concern of humanity to the key role of the Arctic in climate regulation on the planetary scale and the extreme fragility of its ecosystem, biota and native population to on-going environmental change can certainly explain an explosive interest of scientific researchers to the Arctic in connection with 'climate change'. The second big issue of the Arctic is its eminent role in problems of natural resources. The Artic shelf contains vast amount of hydrocarbons (gas and oil), whereas the terrestrial polar regions, now liberating from ice, may turn out to be highly important sites of future ore industry. The importance of possibly ice-free Arctic Ocean as future maritime shipping routes will further enhance the accessibility of natural resources in this region. Taken together, this can be the main driving factors of almost exponential increase in the interest to natural resources in the Arctic over past few years. The present book addresses a wide variety of environmental, social and economic issues of the Arctic, in response to rising interest to this region in academic science, sociology and business. The 14 chapters represent state-of-the art reviews written by the experts on problems of native communities, climate change, political issues, implementation of large-scale projects, natural resources and conservation, environmental monitoring and assessment of pollution issues.

The Arctic has, for some forty years, been among the most innovative policy environments in the world. The region has developed impressive systems for intra-regional cooperation, responded to the challenges of the rapid environmental change, empowered and engaged with Indigenous peoples, and dealt with the multiple challenges of natural resource development. The Palgrave Handbook on Arctic Policy and Politics has drawn on scholars from many countries and academic disciplines to focus on the central theme of Arctic policy innovation. The portrait that emerges from these chapters is of a complex, fluid policy environment, shaped by internal, national and global dynamics and by a wide range of political, legal, economic, and social transitions. The Arctic is a complex place from a political perspective and is on the verge of becoming even more so. Effective, proactive and forward-looking policy innovation will be required if the Far North is to be able to address its challenges and capitalize on its opportunities. 

Against the backdrop of climate change and tectonic political shifts in world politics, this handbook provides an overview of the most crucial geopolitical and security related issues in the Arctic. It discusses established shareholder's policies in the Arctic -  those of Russia, Canada, the USA, Denmark, and Norway - as well as the politics and interests of other significant or future stakeholders, including China and India. Furthermore, it explains the economic situation and the legal framework that governs the Arctic, and the claims that Arctic states have made in order to expand their territories and exclusive economic zones. While illustrating the collaborative approach, represented by institutions such as the Arctic council, which has often been described as an exceptional institution in this region, the contributing authors examine potential resource and power conflicts between Arctic nations, due to competing interests. The authors also address topics such as changing alliances between Arctic nations, new sea lines of communication, technological shifts, and eventually the return to power politics in the area. Written by experts on international security studies and the Arctic, as well as practitioners from government institutions and international organizations, the book provides an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in geopolitical shifts and security issues in the High North.

The Polar North is known to be home to large gas and oil reserves and its position holds significant trading and military advantages, yet the maritime boundaries of the region remain ill-defined. In the twenty-first century the Arctic is undergoing profound change. As the sea ice melts, a result of accelerating climate change, global governance has become vital. In this, the third of three volumes, the latest research and analysis from the world's leading Arctic research body - the Fridtjof Nansen Institute - is brought together for the first time. Arctic Governance: Norway, Russia and Asia investigates the foreign policy discourses of Arctic governance, specifically as regarding international relations and competing interests between Norway, Russia and various Asian states.

The Routledge Handbook of Arctic Security offers a comprehensive examination of security in the region, encompassing both state-based and militarized notions of security, as well as broader security perspectives reflecting debates about changes in climate, environment, economies, and societies. Since the turn of the century, the Arctic has increasingly been in the global spotlight, resulting in the often invoked idea of "Arctic exceptionalism" being questioned. At the same time, the unconventional political power which the Arctic's Indigenous peoples hold calls into question conventional ideas about geopolitics and security. This handbook examines security in this region, revealing contestations and complementarities between narrower, state-based and/or militarized notions of security and broader security perspectives reflecting concerns and debates about changes in climate, environment, economies, and societies. The volume is split into five thematic parts: * Theorizing Arctic Security * The Arctic Powers * Security in the Arctic through Governance * Non-Arctic States, Regional and International Organizations * People, States, and Security. This book will be of great interest to students of Arctic politics, global governance, geography, security studies, and International Relations.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Challenging the mainstream view of the environment as either threatening or valuable, this book considers how geographic knowledge can be applied to offer a more nuanced understanding. Framed within geopolitics and using a range of methodologies, the chapters encapsulate different approaches to demonstrate how selective forms of knowledge, measurement, and spatial focus both embody and stabilize power, shaping how people perceive and respond to changing features of human-environment interactions. With key case studies analyzed throughout, this will be a timely read for geography and environmental studies scholars. It will also be beneficial to those studying political science and regional studies, as well as those working in NGOs and think tanks. Contributors include:L. Acton, B. Blue, L.M. Campbell, S. Dalby, O. Evrard, C.A. Fox, N.J. Gray, M. Himley, C. Johnson, F. Lasserre, P. Le Billon, M. Mostafanezhad, S. O'Lear, L. Olman, B. Schneider, L. Shykora, C. Sneddon, J. Swann-Quinn, M. Tadaki, P.-L. Têtu, S.D. VanDeveer

The Arctic has often been seen as a natural area, or even a "wilderness", where mainly indigenous and subsistence activities have been prominent. Contrary to this, the present volume highlights the very long historical development of resource use systems in northern Europe, across multiple actors and multiple levels, and including varying population groups. The book takes a past-present-future perspective that illustrates the paths to institutional emergence, change or persistence over time. It also illustrates how institutions may themselves drive changes, through a focus on resource use cases in northern Europe. This volume demonstrates that understanding "northern" issues is less about understanding sets of geophysical, climatological or environmental conditions than about understanding social and institutional structures. Understanding these trajectories into the future is seen as a key way of understanding what responses to future change may be likely and what the institutions are that will shape, limit or enable our responses to climate change. This book will be useful to scholars of Arctic and northern-region politics, as well as researchers examining resource use and climate change with a focus on vulnerability, social vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation.

This book discusses to what extent the precautionary approach to fisheries management is reflected in the MSC Fisheries Standard and in the certification of four clusters of fisheries in polar waters. Certification according to private sustainability standards (ecolabelling) has become an important addition to public fisheries management in recent years. The major global ecolabel in terms of comprehensiveness and coverage is the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard. Becoming and remaining certified requires continuous behavioural adaptation from fisheries through a fine-meshed system of improvement conditions attached to certification. Focus is on how certification has influenced fisher behaviour and state practice. In the Southern Ocean krill and toothfish fisheries, MSC certification has generated new scientific knowledge about the stocks. In the Barents Sea cod and haddock fisheries, fishing companies have voluntarily adapted their behaviour to reduce the fishery's impacts on endangered, threatened and protected species and bottom habitats. In the local lumpfish fisheries in Greenland, Iceland and Norway, measures have been introduced to reduce the effects on seabirds and marine mammals. In the Northeast Atlantic mackerel fisheries, impacts have been more modest. Private certification is no panacea, but it seems to have found a niche as a supplement to national legislation and international agreements. 

This book examines emerging forms of governance in the Arctic region, exploring how different types of state and non-state actors promote and support rules and standards. The authors argue that confining our understandings of Arctic governance to Arctic states and a focus on the Arctic Council as the primary site of circumpolar governance provides an incomplete picture. Instead, they embrace the complexity of governance in the Arctic by systematically analyzing and comparing the position, interventions, and influence of different actor groups seeking to shape Arctic political and economic outcomes in multiple sites of Arctic politics, both formal and informal. This book assesses the potential that sub-national governments, corporations, civil society organizations, Indigenous peoples, and non-Arctic states possess to develop norms and standards to ensure a stable, rule-based Arctic region. It will be of interest to all scholars and students working in the fields of Arctic Sovereignty, Security Studies, Global Governance, and International Political Economy.

This timely Research Handbook explores the concept of polar law as a coherent body of law and as a set of rules and principles that applies to both the Arctic and Antarctic. It captures the evolution of polar law and policy, identifying future directions for research in this emerging and growing field. Expert international contributors analyse the concept of polar law across a range of areas including human rights, bioprospecting, tourism, environmental protection and fisheries management. They examine how Antarctic and Arctic regional regimes contribute to polar law, scrutinizing international treaties, agreements and arrangements. With a focus on the evolution of polar law in the context of the Anthropocene, chapters cover key issues related to the poles, such as climate change, minerals exploration and boundary disputes. Demonstrating the benefits of polar as opposed to bipolar law, this Research Handbook provides a critical assessment of contemporary challenges to the field.  Incorporating a diverse range of themes and topics, this Research Handbook will be a valuable resource for academics and students of polar law as well as those interested in how international law applies to the polar regions. It will also be beneficial for diplomats and policy makers working in polar law and policy fields.

This book investigates the multifaceted nature of change in today's Nordic Arctic and the necessary research and policy development required to address the challenges and opportunities currently faced by this region. It focuses its attention on the recent efforts of the Nordic community to create specialized Centers of Excellence in Arctic Research in order to facilitate this process of scientific inquiry and policy articulation. The volume seeks to describe both the steps that lead to this decision and the manner in which this undertaking has evolved. The work highlights the research efforts of the four Centers and their investigations of a variety of issues including those related to ecosystem and wildlife management, the revitalization resource dependent communities, the emergence of new climate-born diseases and the development of adequate modeling techniques to assist northern communities in their efforts at adaptation and resilience building.  Major discoveries and insights arising from these and other efforts are detailed and possible policy implications considered.  The book also focuses attention on the challenges of creating and supporting multidisciplinary teams of researchers to investigate such concerns and the methods and means for facilitating their collaboration and the integration of their findings to form new and useful perspectives on the nature of change in the contemporary Arctic.  It also provides helpful consideration and examples of how local and indigenous communities can be engaged in the co-production of knowledge regarding the region.  The volume discusses how such research findings can be best communicated and shared between scientists, policymakers and northern residents.  It considers the challenges of building common concern not just among different research disciplines but also between bureaucracies and the public. Only when this bridge-building effort is undertaken can true pathways to action be established.

Bringing together leading scholars from across a diverse range of disciplines, this unique book examines a key question: How can we best conserve marine living resources in the Polar regions, where climate change effects and human activities are particularly pressing? Part one of this timely book focuses on Antarctica, centring on the evolving work of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in managing the marine living resources of the Southern Ocean. Part two explores the multi-level governance regime in the Arctic, analysing the central Arctic Ocean fisheries agreement, the role of the Arctic Council and law and governance in Arctic states. Finally, part three considers some of the new challenges and opportunities, including new technology, bioprospecting and dispute settlement. Providing a comprehensive assessment of the governance regimes of marine living resources in the Polar regions, this book will be of great interest to academics, NGOs, international organizations and government officials, whilst also being a key resource for practitioners working in the fisheries industries.

This book considers both the present state of Arctic shipping and possible future trends with reference to the various sectors of maritime transportation: cruise tourism, container traffic and bulk shipping. Ports are analysed as tools that support the strategies of coastal states to foster the development of resource extraction, enhance the attractiveness of Arctic shipping lanes and enable the control of maritime activities through coast guard deployment. The aim of this book is to draw a picture of the trends of Arctic shipping. How is traffic evolving in Canada's Arctic, or along the Northern Sea Route? Are there significant differences between bulk and container shipping segments when considering the Arctic market? How are the ports and the hinterland developing and what are the strategies behind those? How is the legal framework shaping the evolution of maritime transportation? The contributors to this book consider all of these questions, and more, as they map out the prospects for Arctic shipping and analyse in detail the development of Arctic shipping as a result of multi-variable interactions. This book will be key reading for industry professionals and post-graduate students alike.

This book provides a first-ever synthesis of sustainability and sustainable development experiences in the Arctic. It presents state-of-the-art thinking about sustainability for the Arctic from a multi-disciplinary perspective. This book aims to create a comprehensive, integrative knowledge base for the assessment of Arctic sustainability for countries such as the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, alongside emerging ideas about sustainable development in the Arctic. These ideas relate to understanding how a community's geography matters in determining the required sustainability efforts, decolonial thinking for building sustainability that is crafted by and for local and Indigenous communities, and the idea of polycentrism (i.e., that the paths toward sustainability differ among places and communities). This volume also highlights the recent thinking about sustainability and resilience over the past decade for the rapidly changing Arctic region.　 With patterns of thinking drawn from economic, social, environmental, community, and other components of sustainability; observations and monitoring; engagement of Indigenous knowledge; and integration with policy and decision making, the book helps us understand the complexity and interconnectedness of current Arctic transformations in a more comprehensive way.

This book offers multidisciplinary perspectives on renewable economies in the Arctic and how these are being supported scientifically, economically, socially, and politically by Arctic states. The economic development of the Arctic region is witnessing new, innovative trends which hold promise for the sustainable development of the region. This book discusses the emerging forms of renewable economies to understand where intellectual and technological innovations are being made. It draws on the expertise of scholars from across the Arctic and provides the reader with a foundation of knowledge to identify the unique challenges of the region and explore opportunities to unlock the immense potential of renewable resources to boost the region's economy. This book offers a holistic Arctic perspective against the backdrop of prevailing social, economic, and climatic challenges. With critical insights on the economic state of play and the role of renewable resources in the development of the Arctic region, this book will be a vital point of reference for Arctic scholars, communities, and policy makers.

Addressing the growing economic, political, and cultural presence of Asian states in the Arctic region, this timely book looks at how that presence is being evaluated and engaged with by Arctic states and their northern communities. A diverse range of authors addresses the question that underpins so much of this interest in Asian engagement with the northern latitudes: what do Asian countries want to gain from the Arctic? Although China, Japan, India, Singapore and South Korea were only accepted as formal observers to the Arctic Council in 2013, this book outlines a longer history of Asian-Arctic engagement that spans centuries. It highlights how this role as observer generates new challenges, dangers and opportunities for Arctic states and their northern communities. Climate change, energy and other resources such as fish, global geopolitical change and northern autonomy are shown to all play a part in mediating how Asian states are observed and evaluated in the Arctic Council and beyond. Students of Asian and Arctic studies will find the exploration of the roots of religion, culture and trade in the long-standing Asian interest in the Arctic to be compelling. This will also be a beneficial read particularly for scholars in geopolitics, international relations and political science as it shows how an intergovernmental forum can have global, national and local impacts. Contributors include:M.M. Bennett, S. Chaturvedi, K. Dodds, N. Filimonova, N. Hong, S. Knecht, N. Liu, I.A. Medby, Y.-K. Park, U. Sinha, C.Y. Woon

Threats to the Arctic discusses all the current threats to this fragile region, emphasizing the interconnections between many environmental impacts, as well as the teleconnections between events already emerging in the Arctic (ocean circulation changes, melting of sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets) and other parts of the world. The book's aim is to inform readers about the impending, sometimes irreversible changes coming to the Arctic. University students, environmental engineers, policymakers and sociologists with an interest in the role of the Arctic in global change will benefit from the book's unique perspective. As this remote, inhospitable part of the world that few people will ever visit provides amazing insights, we can no longer have an 'out of sight - out of mind' approach to the environmental upheavals taking place in the Arctic. Provides the most up-to-date information on this rapidly changing, critical part of the world Offers a holistic understanding of the interconnections between global environmental changes and impacts in the Arctic Examines fact-based pressure on politics and industry to preserve Arctic biota and environments

Making the Arctic City explores the unwritten history of city-building in the Arctic over the last 100 years. Spanning northern regions of North America, through Greenland, Svalbard to Russia, this is the first book to provide a truly circumpolar account of historical and contemporary architecture and urbanism in the Arctic - and it shows how the Arctic city offers valuable lessons for the post-colonial study of architectural and urban planning history elsewhere. Examining architects' and planners' designs for Arctic urban futures, it considers the impact of 20th-century models of urban design and planning in Arctic cities, and reveals how contemporary architectural approaches continue to this day to essentialize 'extreme' climate conditions and disregard the agency of Arctic city-dwellers - a critical perspective that is vital to the formulation of future design and planning practices in the region.

This volume is an energy-tailored sequel to the research on the Arctic carried out at MGIMO University. Specifically, the proposed book is grounded in the profound academic and practical expertise of the specialized body of MGIMO University - International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy chaired by Prof. Valery Salygin. Thus, the research exclusively focuses on energy-related aspects of exploration of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF). This particular region with its ample oil and gas resources has been comparatively and critically studied by a team of authors representing Russia, USA, France, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Lithuania from legislative, political, economic, technical, transport, environmental, sustainability, and security perspectives.

This book showcases the results of studies pertaining to climate changes in the Polar Regions - Arctic-Antarctic-Himalaya. It discusses the significant variations due to thinning of sea ice in the Arctic, insights on the first Indian Arctic multi-sensor mooring (IndARC), political context of major geological and tectonic features of Arctic Ocean, climate change and its predicted impacts on fisheries and coastal communities. The book also contains the work pursued under the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystems, aiming towards strengthening the capacities of farmers through appropriate Lab-to-Land intervention to combat climate change issues. Discussions on various models like WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting), Regional Climate Model (RegCM4) pertaining to Himalaya have been highlighted to gain more insights on climate change.  

This thought-provoking Research Handbookoffers a critical survey of the law and governance issues facing the world's oceans and coasts in this era of Anthropocentric climate change. It discusses the biophysical impacts that climate change is having upon our oceans and coasts, as well as the various ways that international, national and sub-national laws have sought to respond. With contributions from scientists and lawyers, this comprehensive Research Handbook provides cutting edge analysis of the marine governance responses to climate change and how this will need to adapt in a rapidly changing world. It reflects on the interaction of climate change with regional marine governance regimes and analyses the likely impacts on maritime and national security. Illustrating the up-to-date treatment of interactions between climate and oceans regimes, this incisive Research Handbookexamines the possible adaptation options to address specific issues for our oceans and coasts. The Research Handbook on Climate Change, Oceans and Coastswill be a key resource for students, scholars and practitioners of climate change, water law and environmental law and policy, while also being of benefit to researchers in the cross-cutting fields of human rights and disaster law.