Pipeline Sabotage & more – 24th Oct 2023

Góðan daginn from Keswick Village! This is Rorshok Arctic Update from the 24th of October twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what’s going down North of the Arctic Circle!

In early September, environmental groups were happy about the Interior Department of the US government canceling the last open oil and gas leases in Alaska. However, not everyone was excited at the news. On Wednesday, the 17th, the Alaska state government filed a lawsuit against the federal government for the lease cancellation. According to Republican Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, "The federal government is determined to strip away Alaska’s ability to support itself, and we have got to stop it. " The lawsuit argues that the twenty seventeen US Congress decision to open the Arctic for drilling overrides any decision the Interior Department makes, so the Department should reinstate the licenses.

Over to Finland, where the security investigations into the suspected pipeline sabotage connecting Finland and Estonia continue. On Friday, the 20th, the Finnish police said they were focusing on the Chinese vessel Newnew Polar Bear. China’s first foray into shipping within the Arctic Ocean is under suspicion as the vessel’s movements coincide with the timing and location of the pipeline damage. Police confirmed an external mechanical force caused the damage, and now they are forensically analyzing the scene to establish what exactly inflicted the damage and how it did it. Finland will have to import all its natural gas over the winter, which will probably benefit Russia.

From the 19th to the 21st, the 10th Arctic Circle Assembly took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, with over 2,000 participants from seventy countries, including heads of state, climate ministers, and indigenous leaders. This is the largest Arctic conference in the world and has led to excellent progress in circumpolar policy matters. Notable highlights include Morten Høglund, the Arctic Council chairman, reviving the suspended Arctic Council with an initiative to address Arctic wildfires. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, COP28 President, stressed the importance of upholding climate promises. At the same time, Lisa Murkowski, a US Senator, emphasized the increasing US involvement in the Arctic and criticized Russia and China for their ongoing military buildup in the Arctic Ocean. Katrin Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, addressed the devastating impact of climate change on her country and emphasized the significance of gender equality in meaningful climate action.

Pikialasorsuaq is the largest polyna in the Arctic and crosses the Canadian and Greenlandic borders. A polyna is an open water area surrounded by sea ice that never freezes. The area is a vital breeding ground for plankton, fish, and birds. Canada and Greenland signed a letter of intent to cooperate on the conversation and management of Pikialasorsuaq on Thursday, the 19th, eventually establishing a marine protected area. The idea is to use Indigenous knowledge alongside science to protect this vulnerable area of the Arctic Ocean.

The Russian government has been capitalizing on the melting of the Arctic Ocean by planning massive increases in cargo shipping via the Northern Sea Route. A recent new plan set the ambitious target of a shipping volume of 150 million tonnes by twenty thirty. However, this week, Russia set a new target with even loftier goals. On Monday the 23rd, The Kommersant newspaper revealed that Russia raised the goal to 224 million tonnes by twenty thirty. The newspaper reported that the actual cargo levels will depend on factors like major energy projects, such as the Vostok Oil project and Novatek's liquefied natural gas plants, as well as the availability and construction of icebreakers.

An influential chapter in Norway’s and Svalbard’s history closed on Thursday, the 19th. Svalbard’s last remaining Norwegian-owned coal power plant in the city of Longyearbyen has been closed. This power plant was Longyearbyen's sole provider of warmth and light for over forty years. The Norwegian state government will transform it into a diesel power plant. While this new plant is set up, Longyearbyen will run on local diesel generators. This is a milestone for Svalbard’s establishment as a haven for Arctic science and research, moving away from over a hundred years of history as a coal mining settlement in the far northern Arctic.

The future of the Arctic is a complex and fraught issue. A new study published on Thursday, the 19th, in the Current Biology Journal, revealed that massive redistribution threatens global areas of agriculture. This means that current farmland areas will become unusable while Arctic regions warm into environments capable of supporting crops. The Lead author, Alexandra Gardner from the University of Exeter, said, “Those areas are so precious for biodiversity, for actually meeting our climate goals in terms of reducing our carbon emissions.” An increase in farmland may seem like a positive outcome, but the impact on global biodiversity will only reduce the ecosystem's health. Farmers must adopt sustainable techniques to ensure their land is healthy enough to grow crops.

The changing Arctic is having very real effects on us right now, too. Crab fishing is a keystone industry of many Alaskan communities, but the warming oceans have devastated populations of many crab species in the Arctic Ocean. A new report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published on Thursday, the 19th, has found that since twenty eighteen, approximately 10 billion snow crabs have died in a massive heat wave, which caused mass starvation of many Arctic sea creatures. Local fishermen have been feeling the impact of this. On Sunday, the 15th, a new crab harvest was opened in the Bering Sea, after being closed for two years. The closure was an attempt to help crab populations recover. The numbers of the snow crab have continued to plummet, but desperation from local fishermen has led to a small harvest of 2.6 million pounds, or 1.3 million kilograms. This is down from 8.4 million pounds, or 4.2 million kilograms, in twenty seventeen.

If you found the story interesting, head over to the Rorshok Ocean Update for more information. Link in the show notes!

Staying in the ocean, the Norwegian-Russian Joint Fishery Commission has agreed on twenty twenty-four cod quotas in the Barents Sea. For the third year running, the quota has been reduced by 20% as the population estimate of the cod has once again declined. This agreement is crucial for the long-term sustainable management of marine resources in the Barents Sea. Still, the reduction in the quota is a sign that the cod is suffering from climate change in the Arctic Ocean.

The Tłı̨chǫ Government has embarked on the most ambitious reforestation project in Canada's Northwest Territories history, planning to plant one million trees on Tłı̨chǫ land over the next three years. This project, announced on Thursday, the 18th, and developed in collaboration with non-profit Trees Canada and Let’s Plant Trees Ltd, will focus on restoring crucial boreal caribou habitat in response to the forest fires that ravaged the region this summer. Work will start this year with seed collection. Seeds will be cultivated into saplings over the next eighteen months and planted in the coming years. The Tłı̨chǫ Government did not disclose the project's budget but mentioned receiving $150,000 Canadian dollars, or about $100,000 US dollars, from the federal government for regional reforestation.

Finally, over to Iceland, where women are taking the opportunity to make their voices heard. On Tuesday, the 24th, a full-day women’s strike will take place. Every woman in Iceland is encouraged to strike, no matter their job. A coalition of thirty-six feminist organizations in Iceland organized the protest, which seeks to eradicate gender-based violence and wage discrepancies through demonstration of their value to Icelandic society. This will be the sixth women’s strike in Iceland, with the first taking place on the same day in nineteen forty-eight.

Iceland’s women have a long history of fighting for their rights and winning. The World Economic Forum has ranked the country number one in gender equality for twelve years in a row. For an inspiring look into how they’ve broken barriers and closed gender gaps, Vox has a piece entitled ‘The day women shut down Iceland’. To read it, follow the link in our show notes!

And that's it for this week!

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