Focus on environmental protection a welcome change in direction for Arctic Council: WWF-Canada
(Iqaluit, April 24, 2015) – As the United States takes the helm of the Arctic Council, WWF-Canada has high hopes for a renewed agenda that is reported to include concrete actions on climate change and protection of the fragile Arctic environment.
Foreign ministers from all eight Arctic states – Canada, the U.S., Russia, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden – along with representatives from six indigenous organizations and several observers like WWF, will meet in Iqaluit on April 24 and 25. It will be the last meeting chaired by Canada’s Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who has led the Canadian chairmanship for the past two years, before she hands the lead over to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
The meeting will signal the adoption of the Iqaluit Declaration, which highlights the achievements from the past two years, while laying out the priorities ahead. The American agenda, released during an October 2014 meeting in Yellowknife, NT, includes issues of vital environmental importance, such as increasing the development of renewable energies, public education and monitoring of ocean acidification, and the creation of new marine protected areas.
“The United States’ focus on creating new protected areas, like the proposed National Marine Conservation Area in Lancaster Sound, is very encouraging for us,” says Paul Crowley, VP Arctic for WWF-Canada. “Putting nature first, both for Arctic wildlife and for the people who depend on it, should always be at the forefront of the Arctic Council’s activities.”
Also included in the list of U.S. chairmanship priorities for the next two years – branded as “One Arctic: Shared Opportunities, Challenges and Responsibilities” — is a call for increased co-operation in the areas of oil spill preparedness and response, and more information sharing on the environmental impacts of hazardous substances.
“Oil spills in the Arctic can have disastrous consequences for marine wildlife and coastal communities, as WWF has shown through our Oil Spill Trajectory Modelling,” says Crowley. “Co-operation in this area, or a lack thereof as was shown recently when a barge carrying diesel fuel went adrift in Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, may make all the difference as climate change opens up the Arctic to more economic development opportunities.”
Outcomes of the first day of the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Iqaluit will be announced following the end of Friday’s proceedings.
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For further information contact
Megan Nesseth, Communications Specialist – Arctic, WWF-Canada
(416) 904-2482
[email protected]
About WWF
WWF-Canada is part of WWF (World Wildlife Fund), one of the world’s largest and most respected conservation organizations. With the active support of over 250,000 Canadians, WWF-Canada has close to 50 years of experience implementing science-based knowledge and research into on-the-ground projects. WWF is creating solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature thrive. Visit wwf.ca for more information.