Arctic

Climate change, opportunities drive far-flung interest in Arctic

Countries as geographically distant from the Arctic as tropical Singapore are taking interest in the warming Arctic and the economic opportunities that warming may bring.

President Obama may have been the highlight, but the State Department's GLACIER conference earlier this week drew 20 foreign delegations. And all but two of them -- China and India -- signed a joint declaration on climate change and the Arctic.

"It was quite stirring to see the turnout from literally all over the world," said U.S. Arctic Research Commission Chair Fran Ulmer, who moderated an Alaska World Affairs Council panel on Tuesday, titled "Global Interest in the Arctic."

At the panel, diplomats from three Arctic Council observer states -- Singapore, South Korea, and Poland -- highlighted their participation in the region's scientific and business affairs. Only the eight Arctic states can be full members of the Arctic Council. Nations and organizations with observer status can participate in Arctic Council projects and sometimes make statements at meetings. The 12 observer states are mostly in Europe and East Asia.

Polish Undersecretary of State Henryka Moscicka-Dendys said the densely populated Northern Hemisphere has a stake in what happens further north. "From the geopolitical perspective we are not an Arctic country, but the Baltic is a neighboring region ... and climate change is having a global impact," she said.

The country's scientists are contributing research on climate change such as snow cover measurements from a polar station in Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago.

Erratic weather patterns are forcing Asian nations to pay attention to Arctic melting, said Kim Chan-Woo, South Korea's ambassador for Arctic affairs.

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A polar vortex, like the one which brought low temperatures and heavy snow falls to the East Coast in recent years, also affected his country. "We have also suffered from very severe winters because of global warming," he said.

Strategic interests are also driving South Korea's keen attention to the Arctic. With 97 percent of its energy coming from overseas, the country is looking at new opportunities for resource development, the ambassador said.

The potential for new shipping routes as sea ice extent shrinks is particularly important to Singapore, a country whose economic fortunes rest partially on its port near the busy Strait of Malacca.

Singapore's Arctic Ambassador Tony Siddique touted his country's expertise in shipping management and oil clean up. "Fifty years ago we were a fishing village," he said. "Some countries helped us grow. Now it's payback time!"

For Ulmer, such growing global interest in the Arctic marks a triumph of sorts for the region and those who care about it.

"It's just recently that people are aware of why they should be paying attention," she said. "For the research community, for some members at the governmental level it's been clear for a long time, but getting that message out has been a challenge for us. For those of us who have cared about the Arctic for a long time ... maybe we haven't talked in terms that relate specifically to people where they live. As opposed to simply trying to tell them our story, telling them why what happens here actually affects them."

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