Much to learn from the Arctic Council

The world is getting hotter and hotter.

- LEE JAE-MIN

The Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization's report last January confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record. What's even more startling is that the previous 10 years (2015-2024) were the warmest decade registered. We are feeling the heat, too. The National Institute of Fisheries Science of Korea reported that the country's seawater in 2024 recorded the highest temperature (18.74 degrees Celsius) since 1968. No doubt climate change brings about grave consequences in every corner of the world.

Climate change has also reached far north, triggering unexpected consequences. Melting ice and thawing glaciers in the Arctic Ocean are making the once-prohibited northern sea area accessible and navigable. Arctic shipping has been increasing. Arctic natural resources are coming within reach.

Enter technology here. Satellite-enabled networks are facilitating government monitoring, regulation and enforcement. Underwater cables are being constructed as new critical infrastructure. Upgraded icebreaking and ice-strengthened vessels are joining industrial fleets.

All of a sudden, large swathes of the polar seas and land bordering them begin to carry a new meaning for global commerce and national security. I think the recent Greenland debate is the latest twist in the plot.

Well, the busy Arctic area has its own supervising entity—the Arctic Council. It is a unique intergovernmental consultative body for the Arctic area formed in 1996 by eight countries bordering the region: Norway, Canada, the United States, Russia, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Sweden. Now, 30 years on and with global governance in chaos and multilateralism in crisis, the unique mode of business of the Arctic Council merits new attention.