Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Sweden’s National Arctic approach and Arctic Council perspectives Mikael Anzén Deputy Director, MFA, Sweden Twitter: SDWG_Chair

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden

What defines the Arctic? The area above the Arctic circle, land but mainly waters Not one Arctic but many different Arctic regions The Arctic sea is mostly covered with ice 5 costal states around the Arctic Sea Regulated through UNCLOS and national rules Approximately 4 million people living in the Arctic Remote area, huge distances, cold, dark, ice and snow

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Sweden in the Arctic I ”Landlocked” Arctic country Baltic Sea – Arctic conditions – ice-breaker knowledge Sweden has a long Arctic presence, Nordenskiöld first to sail through Northern Sea Route 1870 Important Arctic research nation Facilities such as station Abisko, ice-breakers Ymer & Oden

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Sweden in the Arctic II Knowledgebase and dynamic Arctic nation Swedish iron ore 90% of EU’s production (+ rare earth elements) Europe’s only indigenous peoples – Sami Member of the European Union Member of the Arctic Council Member of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden

The Arctic is hot – new drivers The temperature rise in the Arctic is double as much as the global average all time low of summer ice in the Arctic. No summer ice in the Arctic within years. New challenges and opportunities for the environment, for peoples, for businesses and a new area for geopolitics.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden

New Sea routes in the Arctic The Northern Sea Route The North-West passage Central Arctic Shipping route?

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden

Business projections – not linear Huge source of raw material Highly dependent on world market price Difficult operations Lack of infrastructure Expensive At sea – ice conditions constantly changing High risk – insurance market

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Barents Council vs. Arctic Council Founded in 1993 Regional political project 2 year rotating chairmanship members (EU) Secretariat in Kirkenes 8 Working Groups Indigenous Peoples in WG Bottom-up approach Regional cooperation Founded in 1996 Environmental cooperation 2 year rotating chairmanship 8 members (US, Canada) Secretariat in Tromsö 6 Working Groups 6 Indigenous Peoples Org Top–down approach ”High-politics”

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden

Swedish Arctic Policy Climate and Environment Strengthening Swedish Arctic research Sustainable Economic Development Humans living conditions in the Arctic Ongoing projects in the Arctic Council and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council Keep the Arctic as an area of low tension Strengthen regional cooperation Strengthen bilateral cooperation

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Observers to the Arctic Council 12 states (France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India) The EU (?) 9 inter-governmental organizations 11 non-governmental organizations

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Chairs of the Arctic Council Sweden Chair Ministerial meeting in Kiruna May 2013 Adoption of Kiruna Declaration and Kiruna Vision Canada Ministerial meeting end of April 2015 US

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden

Results A stronger Arctic Council Standing Secretariat in Tromsö and a director strategic communication strategy Work on reducing black carbon and methane emissions New observers Agreement on Preparedness and Response to Marine Oil Pollution

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Results CSR in the Arctic Arctic Resilience Arctic Biodiversity Assessment Arctic Ocean Acidification Arctic Ocean Review Meeting of Environment ministers

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden Conclusions Not one Arctic but many different regions in the Arctic Sweden is a knowledge-based and dynamic Arctic nation Significant co-operation in the Arctic Optimism vs. realism in business Increasing importance of the Arctic Council - from ”decision shaping forum” to a ”decision making organization”