Norway Welcomes Non-Arctic States in the Arctic Council

The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre velcomes that China recently applied for permanent observer status to the Arctic Council. Effective countermeasures for protecting the Arctic environment also have to include non-Arctic states.

This week, China and Norway signed a Framework Agreement on Cooperation and Dialogue on Climate Change in Beijing. On this occasion Mr. Støre compared Arctic with the Canary in the coal Mine. He said: "We can no longer ignore its call as it has been underlined by the Intergovernmental Panel, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) and the great communicator on climate change, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Al Gore."

Mr. Støre wants closer cooperation in The Arctic Council:"The Arctic Council is a key institution for dealing with Arctic issues, and Norway is currently chair of the Council. Both our countries have borders with the Arctic state Russia, and the Arctic Council will provide an arena for exchanging views and developing joint actions in the years to come.

Major challenges in the Arctic such as climate change and high levels of environmentally hazardous substances and heavy metals are caused by activities outside the Arctic. Therefore, effective countermeasures for protecting the Arctic environment also have to include non-Arctic states.

The Arctic Council is now preparing new joint scientific studies of the retreat of sea ice, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the reduction of permafrost and snow cover. These are major Arctic developments with important global consequences. I am confident that the studies will provide valuable input both to the UN Climate Change Conference in 2009 and to the fifth assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, due in 2013, " Mr. Støre said.