As our reporter Eilis Quinn found out at the Arctic Frontiers Conference, much of what the circumpolar Arctic Council does affects many of the issues under discussion at the conference in Tromso Norway.
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The Arctic Council is now celebrating its 20th year.
This milestone was noted at the Arctic Frontiers conference being covered our reporter.
While shipping issues were at the forefront in today’s discussions, Eilis discovered that many of the international accords developed by the Arctic Council were mentioned during presentations on a variety of issues from the environment, such as ship spills, to search and rescue.
Eilis noted as well the Arctic Council’s main focus has been sustainable development and environmental protection, while also trying to keep the individual political agendas of countries from overwhelming important discussions and agreements.
She noted that the general consensus at the conference was that the Arctic Council was indeed doing a good job at fostering international relations and keeping lines of contact among countries going, though those countries might have serious disagreements on other non-Arctic issues.
Eilis also noted that an interesting point was raised regarding the environmental aspect. With such international agreements as that reached in Paris at the COP-21 environmental congress, should the role of the Arctic Council be modified or changed.
She says the question was posed, by while a point of discussion, no answers were forthcoming.
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