The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of 13 March, 2023
Environmental Groups Sue Biden Administration Over Alaskan Willow Oil Project
As reported by Arctic Today on March 15, six environmental groups initiated legal action against the Biden administration following its approval of the ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil and gas project in Alaska. The lawsuit claims the Biden administration failed to consider the cumulative ecological implications of the Willow Project and ignored legal climate consideration guidelines. Earthjustice, an environmental law firm, have also filed a separate suit alleging that the Biden administration did not consider an adequate range of alternatives to the project. (Arctic Today)
Take 1: The widely reported pressure campaign by environmentalists against the Willow development is quickly transitioning to legal action. The brewing legal battle highlights a sharp divide between the Democratic administration and environmental groups over the extent to which public lands and federal waters should be available for oil and gas development. In an attempt to minimize the ecological fallout from the project, the Biden administration demanded the five proposed oil and gas drilling areas on the western North Slope be reduced to three. The administration has also attempted to prevent the project from expanding by placing new protections on a nearby coastal wetland and announcing the intention to designate roughly 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea near shore of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska as off limits for future oil and gas leasing. Likewise, the Interior Department plans to issue new rules to block oil and gas leases on more than 13 million of the 23 million acres that form the reserve. Nevertheless, environmental groups continue to argue that the Biden administration’s environmental analysis of the Willow project violates federal law, including the National Environmental Policy Act. Environmental groups and ConocoPhillips are now locked in a race to win the legal case for an injunction before the ice roads needed to build the project’s infrastructure melt this spring. A successful delay until warmer weather could prevent construction for at least another 12 months. (The Arctic Institute, Earthjustice, High North News, The Independent, The New York Times, Politico)
New Report Finds Rising Significance of the Arctic Puts Greenland at Risk of Cyber Attacks
As reported by Eye on the Arctic on March 14, a newly published cyber threat assessment found Greenland at high risk of cyber attacks. Denmark’s Centre for Cyber Security (CFCS) worked with Greenland’s Agency for Digitisation to produce the report. The assessment found that Greenland’s central Arctic location means foreign states may use cyber attacks to advance their political and financial Arctic interests at Greenland’s expense. Greenland’s Agency for Digitisation is responsible for cyber and information security in Greenland, while the CFCS advises the government and private companies in Denmark on countering and preventing cyber attacks. (Eye on the Arctic)
Take 2: In recent years Greenland has experienced several serious cyber attacks. In March 2022, a cyber attack crippled the government network, and in May, an additional assault on the health care system network severely limited services for over a week. As a result, Greenland’s Agency for Digitisation formed a partnership with the CFCS, which includes training staff at the Greenlandic agency and advising on cyber and information security through regular assessments and briefings on cyber threats against Greenland. The recently released report is the first such assessment. Notably, the report concludes that Greenland is at a high risk of cyber espionage and cyber crime but at low risk of destructive cyber attacks, cyber activism and cyber terrorism. Cyber espionage involves gaining access to sensitive and valuable information, while cyber crime is a collective term for different forms of theft, fraud and extortion. Attack techniques used in the initial phases of both share multiple similarities, with hackers attempting to gain access to critical IT systems by using phishing techniques and exploiting known vulnerabilities. Greenland’s Arctic location and geography are not only a contributing factor to such attacks, but exacerbate their effects as Greenland is dependent on secure supplies of food, power and heating. As the Arctic becomes increasingly politicised following rising geopolitical tensions between the Arctic littoral states and Greenland moves towards independence, awareness of cyber threats and established cyber resilience should become an even greater priority to safeguard the state. (Centre for Cyber Security, Eye on the Arctic, Greenlandic Broadcasting Cooperation, Government of Greenland, Sermitsiaq AG)
New Study Finds Arctic Sea Ice Has Suffered “Irreversible Thinning” Since 2007
As reported by The Washington Post on March 15, a new study published in Nature has found evidence of the long-lasting impact of climate change on Arctic sea ice. Scientists at the Norwegian Polar Institute observed a marked difference in Arctic sea ice level before and after it reached an unprecedented low in 2005 and 2007. Data collected from the Fram Strait shows a consistent trend of thinner and younger sea ice cover in the Arctic following 2007. Researchers link the change to rising ocean temperatures driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases and conclude changes to Arctic sea ice formation are irreversible in the current climate. (The Washington Post)
Take 3: Whereas past studies have concentrated on the extent of Arctic sea ice, researchers in this study evaluated three decades of data on the age and thickness of ice escaping the Arctic each year at the Fram Strait. The study found that Arctic sea ice has changed from thick and ridged, to thin and flat. The ‘regime shift’ is thought to have occurred in 2005 and 2007 when low summer ice cover triggered an ‘albedo feedback’ loop, causing the increasingly exposed dark ocean surface to absorb more of the sun’s heat. This cycle of warmer water makes it harder for ice to form, survive and get thicker. The thinner and uniform sea ice is more easily pushed through the Fram Strait, reducing the residence time of ice in the Arctic Ocean by over a year, which has a profound impact on the Arctic ecosystem. For example, polar bears’ energy reserves are strained as they have to walk more quickly to stay close to good hunting areas as the drift speed increases. Changing ice conditions also threaten ice-reliant mammals such as hooded seals and narwhals, and the Indigenous communities across the Arctic that rely on ice-hunting for food security. Loss of ice-bottom ridges could also reduce the habitat for microscopic organisms at the base of the ocean food web, with additional repercussions throughout the marine system. The full consequences remain to be seen, but once the ocean has accumulated such heat it cannot easily return to previous temperature. Therefore, a sudden healing cooling change is unlikely to solve the issue. (National Geographic, Phys.org, The Washington Post)
Indigenous Peoples Challenge Approval for Soil Treatment Facility in Inuvik
As reported by CBC News on March 10, the Gwich’in Tribal Council (GTC) is asking the courts to overturn approval for a soil treatment facility in Inuvik. Despite a number of environmental violations found during an inspection of the soil treatment facility in 2022, its licence was renewed by the Gwich’in Land and Water Board without a public hearing. The GTC have requested a judicial review of the decision on the grounds that the land and water board failed to carry out its legislative duty to consult stakeholders and consider the effect on adjacent protected land. The case is being heard in Northwest Territories Supreme Court this Friday. (CBC News)
Take 4: The soil treatment facility is operated by a waste management company that stores hydrocarbon-contaminated soil -and snow- originating from spills or contaminated industrial sites. When the company applied for a license renewal in 2022, the GTC wrote to the Land and Water Board requesting a public hearing. Subsequently, the Land and Water Board asked the territorial department of Environment and Natural Resources to inspect the facility, revealing a number of violations including failure to chemically analyse contaminated soil, operation with an expired water licence and insufficient fencing to keep wildlife out. In November the Land and Water Board renewed the facilities licence without a public hearing, stating that the facility had addressed the deficiencies noted by the inspection and that a hearing would be time-consuming and costly. The GTC argue that the significant non-compliance with the terms of the licence warrants a public hearing and the failure to provide this means the board has not carried out its legislative duty to consult. The GTC also allege that the board have failed to consider the environmental impact on adjacent lands protected by the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement. Given Canada’s historical relationship with Indigenous Peoples, the apparent disregard for Indigenous voices on the issue is concerning and undermines the recent work to adhere more closely with international commitments to safeguard Indigenous rights. (CBC News, Government of Canada, KBL)
Ban on Russian Fishing Vessels in Norwegian Ports Continues to Incite Debate
As reported by High North News on March 10, the ongoing debate over whether Norway should extend its port ban on Russian fishing vessels to include exempted ports is creating uncertainty for the future operation of businesses. Norwegian ports have been closed to Russian-flagged vessels since 2022, with the exception of Båtsfjord, Tromsø, and Kirkenes. (High North News)
Take 5: The issue of Russian trawlers’ continued access to Norwegian ports was raised in a debate by NorwegianLiberal Party members, who argued that the practice adds value to the Russian economy, which in turn is financing the war in Ukraine. However, Vidar Ulriksen, the State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries, countered that only 10% of fish landed in Norway is sold on to Norwegian processing, while the rest is mainly sent to Europe, which has yet to introduce sanctions on food. As a result, a complete port ban would have no economic impact on Russia. Further justification for continued port access includes fishery cooperation and the joint responsibility to manage cod stock in the Barents Sea. The Norwegian government’s attempt to safeguard the stability of the High North is important. Maintaining normal resource management in the Northern areas will be key to prevent the Arctic becoming the next arena for political discord. Escalating tensions in an already ecologically fragile environment could have disastrous consequences for the wider world. (Barents Observer, Helgermogan, High North News)