The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of January 18, 2021
Arctic Drilling, Climate Addressed in First Hours of Biden Presidency
On January 20, during Joe Biden’s very first day of presidency, he signed an executive order on the environment and climate crisis. The order included a moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reinstated a policy closing large tracts of federal offshore waters in the U.S. Arctic and Northern Bering Strait to oil and gas exploration, and restored the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area. Biden also submitted a letter to the U.N. secretary-general to request re-entry to the Paris Climate Agreement, which will become effective on February 19. (Arctic Today, Reuters)
Take 1: It is a historic and monumental signal of the administration’s priorities for climate change and the Arctic to be central to Joe Biden’s inauguration-day agenda. These actions mark continued acceleration of the U.S. Federal government’s engagement in the Arctic and a serious shift towards climate, the environment and international coalition-building relative to the past administration. Still, Joe Biden inherits a history of lagging U.S. engagement in the Arctic and an increasingly security-oriented and competitive dialogue between the U.S., Russia and China in the region. As such, it is essential that the Biden administration accompany environmental protection and climate action with sustained, strategic engagement to shape the security dialogue in the global Arctic and build U.S. operational capacity in the region. Moving forward, the administration can draw on the expertise of Alaskan Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, in addition to the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, all of which have published Arctic strategy documents since 2019.
U.S. State Department Funds Collaborations between U.S. and Greenlandic Universities
On January 18, High North News reported that the U.S. State Department will provide $3 million in funding for two projects in Greenland, both of which will be led by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The first project, “Leveraging Decades of Arctic and Mine Training Experience to Assist Greenland,” is allocated $1.2 million for three years of operation in partnership with the University of Utah. It will train both Greenlandic and Alaskan staff and students in mining skills and safety, and engage them in the building of a mining training facility in Greenland. The second project, the “Arctic Education Alliance,” is allocated $1.8 million for two years of operations aimed at building the capacity of Greenland’s academic and vocational programs related to land management, fisheries, hospitality, and sustainable tourism. Both projects emphasize program co-design and engagement of Alaskan and Greenlandic native peoples. (High North News)
Take 2: It’s hard to believe that a year ago, former U.S. president Donald Trump was offering to “buy Greenland!” Crude though the suggestion may have been, it seems to have woken the U.S. up to the increasing geostrategic importance of Greenland and the need to establish and maintain a positive working relationship with the island territory. These programs build upon a series of soft actions that the State Department has taken in the last year to re-engage with Greenland in pursuit of shared learning and stronger ties. They included the establishment of a consulate in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, and recent commitment to restoring the traditional award of Thule air-base maintenance contracts to a Greenlandic company when the current contract expires. The efforts indicate an increased strategic focus on activities that enhance mutual benefits and shared opportunities through alliance. The new administration is likely to give more importance (and funding) to the State Department, and there is hope for U.S.-led growth of mutually beneficial engagements such as this between the U.S., Greenland and other Arctic nations in the coming years.
Historic Winter Commercial Transits of the Northern Sea Route
On January 19, High North News reported that Russian energy giant Novatek plans to re-route LNG shipments going from it’s Yamal LNG plant. Instead of shipping LNG via the Panama Canal, Novatek will ship its LNG to Asia via the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Re-routing is motivated by high LNG prices in Japan, which have been produced by the combination of a cold snap in Asia and a serious traffic jam on the Panama Canal. The announcement that Novatek will re-route its shipments follows the safe arrival of Novatek-owned Christophe de Margerie and Nikolay Zubov, which transited the NSR without an icebreaker escort in a test-run last week. (Arctic Today, High North News)
Take 3: Ten years ago, transit of the NSR in the foreseeable future seemed laughable to most experts. Three years ago, Novatek made history by shipping LNG from Yamal to Asia during the summer. And now, Novatek is sending ad-hoc LNG carriers through the route in the dead of winter. This stunning increase in accessibility of the NSR emphasises the speed of Arctic sea ice loss and the immediacy of its implications – not only for shipping, but for the global climate and geopolitical environment as well. In addition, the successful transit of both test vessels provides a powerful proof-of-concept for Novatek and Russia that the dream of a year-round shipping route through the Arctic to Asia is feasible in the short- to medium-term. There is cause for considerable caution – re-routing transits through the Northern Sea Route is potentially very profitable for Novatek, but it is also very risky, as evidenced by the recent month-long rescue of a cargo ship that traveled into unsafe ice conditions. Sea ice along the NSR typically builds up and becomes thicker throughout the winter and spring, and rescue capacity for stranded or damaged boats is limited.
Norway Awards 30 Oil and Gas Exploration Rights in the Barents Sea
On January 19, Reuters reported that Norway awarded 61 new offshore exploration licenses, including blocks in the Barents Sea, to 30 oil companies, including Lundin, Equinor, Aker BP, DNO, ConocoPhillips, Total, and Shell. Several applicants did not receive any licenses – these included RN Nordic Oil, a subsidiary of Rosneft, Russia’s state-controlled oil company, Horisont Energi, and Idemitsu, a Japanese company which recently sold most of its stakes in Norway to Swedish Lundin. The blocks are within Norway’s “pre-defined areas,” which encompass known geology and areas near existing infrastructure. The same firms are also presently invited to submit applications for a second round of leasing in February and March, which will encompass 136 exploration blocks in both the Norwegian and Barents sea. (Journal of Petroleum Technology, Reuters)
Take 4: This strong push for new oil exploration in the New Year, coming from a country that is celebrated worldwide for its dedication to the environment and climate action, strikes a sombre chord and underlines an inconvenient truth: global governments, and the global power structure, are still dependent on oil, as are the largest Arctic nations. Even in the pandemic era of tanked oil prices and uncertain recovery, and despite the fact that Norwegian citizens tried to sue their government over the carbon emissions implicit in new lease sales last year, it appears that oil exploration and development will be the modus operandi for Norway, and for other oil-dependent Arctic nations, until there’s something to replace it economically. While Norway may be criticized for the disconnect between its lofty emissions reduction goals and its economic dependence on oil, Norway’s oil riches have also enabled it to lead the world in emissions reduction technology and climate and sustainability innovation, science, diplomacy and action.
New U.S. Department of Homeland Security Arctic Strategy
On January 15, High North News reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has published a “Strategic Approach for Arctic Homeland Security,” the department’s first ever strategy outlining its role in the Arctic region. The document emphasises the development of capacity to counter near-peer competitors in cooperation with allies, and in pursuit of U.S. economic prosperity and security. It outlines three strategic goals: 1. Secure the Homeland through Persistent Presence and All Domain Awareness, 2. Strengthen Access, Response and Resilience in the Arctic, and 3. Advance Arctic Governance and a Rules-Based Order through Targeted National and International Engagement and Cooperation. The U.S. Navy also released a “strategic blueprint” for the Arctic on January 5. (Arctic Today, High North News)
Take 5: Relative to the civilian government, U.S. military and defense agencies have been proactive in the development of Arctic strategies, and this is only one in a long string of strategic documents published since 2018. Although these documents are well-aligned with each other, all contain certain ambiguities which may confuse cohesive U.S. action in the Arctic in the future. As discussed above, the Biden administration’s first Arctic-relevant actions have been oriented towards collaborative climate action and environmental protection. This new document, on the other hand, contains relics of Trump-era policy sensibilities, including the omission of direct reference to climate change, and the use of an excessively competitive framing of the U.S.’ desired status as an Arctic Nation. Such discrepancies need to be addressed. This said, it is fortunate for the incoming administration that the U.S. military and the Department of Homeland Security, have paid attention to and planned for change in the Arctic even as the civilian government has tangled itself in outright climate-denialism – they will now be on standby to support and inform the development of the Biden administration’s Arctic policy.