As the Arctic Heats Up, How to Keep the Peace
Global warming has increased human activity at the top of the world, and fueled interest from non-polar China. How it’s overseen must reflect that.
Cold, but not at war
Photographer: Maxim Popov/AFP via Getty Images
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, back in 1987, called for the Arctic to be a “zone of peace” — and it has been. Yet warmer temperatures are heralding ice-free summers, opening up all sorts of economic opportunities from potential oil and gas riches to new shipping routes. Military might is being cranked up, too. Decades of harmonious exceptionalism may be coming to an end.
It is still possible to shield the region from rising tensions elsewhere. That will require rethinking the role of states without polar territory, China among them, and creating an informal venue for security discussions that includes sanctions-hit Russia. The eight Arctic states,1 including the U.S., Canada and Russia, must also take real action to tackle the region’s greatest threat: climate change. A statement after this week’s Arctic Council meeting made multiple mentions of global warming, but tough national targets need to match that talk.