The Arctic Forum Foundation functions as an independent, non-profit platform & bridge builder for Arctic-focused actors in politics, science, civil society and business. Through its three pillars - the Arctic Economic Forum, the EU Arctic Forum, and the Science Policy Forum, the foundation utilizes its extensive network to ensure impacts in decision-making and efficient cooperation.
“Arctic Update” Interview with Steffen Weber in Nordic Cleantech Review
As rising temperatures reduce ice levels in the Arctic, interest continues to escalate in drilling for the rich deposits of oil and gas in the region.
Environmental groups and other organizations caution that the receding ice should not set off a drilling free-for-all. Studies continue to conclude that the region is too fragile, the risks of accidents too great and the equipment and plans to clean up spills inadequate. “The Arctic holds the world’s largest remaining untapped gas reserves and some of its largest undeveloped oil reserves. A significant proportion of these reserves lie offshore, in the Arctic’s shallow and biologically productive shelf seas,” according to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF). Read more
Arctic Council Kiruna Ministerial Meeting: Strengthened role of the Arctic Council in a globalized Arctic – China in, the EU on hold
On the 15th May 2013, the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council was held in Kiruna where Sweden handed the Chairmanship to Canada until 2015. At a time when the Arctic is changing at a fast pace, this Ministerial meeting echoed and amplified the main challenges faced by the region in terms of the issues featuring on its existing economic and geo-political agenda, as well as new issues raised on the occasion of the Meeting. The Declaration sets out four priorities: improving economic and social conditions, acting on climate change, protecting the Arctic environment and strengthening the Arctic Council. Read more
Witnessing the Dawn of a New Era: Arctic Frontiers 2103, the Conclusion of Geopolitics in the High North, and a New Arctic Council Secretariat
The 2013 Arctic Frontiers conference saw the official conclusion of the Geopolitics in the High North project at the same time as it witnessed the birth of the new Arctic Council Secretariat to be based in Tromsø. Arctic Forum Foundation was on the scene for both events. Secretary General of the Arctic Forum Foundation, SteffenWeber, attended the signing ceremony for the Secretariat, and spoke with a number of Arctic Council Permanent Participants, members of the Indigenous community, and various experts on the subject of deeper cooperation between them and Arctic Forum Foundation as the Council surges forward under its new Canadian leadership (officially taken over at the Arctic Council Ministerial in Kiruna). Arctic Forum Foundation’s cooperation with the Geopolitics in the High North project has been a valued one, and we look forward to continuing a fruitful dialogue with the project’s members as they embark on new Arctic geopolitics-related endeavors. Read more
The Arctic on the Agenda at the Brussels Forum 2013 Conference
On 15th-17th of March, The German Marshall Fund of the United States invited the Arctic Forum Foundation’s Secretary General Steffen Weber to participate in the 8th edition of its prestigious flagship event ‘Brussels Forum’ at the Steigenberger Grand Hotel in Brussels. Over the past years this event has become the premier venue where senior leaders from the world of politics, business and ideas discuss the future of the transatlantic relations in the global context. Brussels Forum 2013 welcomed over 400 participants representing more than 55 different countries. Read more
Ruling on the EU Seal Products Trade Ban: Commentary on the Ruling of the European Court of Justice – General Court, Case T-526/10, of April 27, 2013
Commentary by Nikolas Sellheim, Arctic Forum Foundation Research Fellow specialized in seals issues and Phd student at the Faculty of Law at the University of Lapland.
In its judgement on the application for annulment of Regulation 737/2010 laying down detailed rules on the implementation of Regulation 1007/2009 European Parliament and the Council on trade in seal products, the General Court reaffirms the legality of the seal products trade ban (basic regulation) and its implementing regulation. It dismissed the pleas brought forth by individual Inuit hunters from Greenland and Canada, hunting and fur trapping organizations, seal traders and seal processors. Read more