 Founded 1996  Premier high-level diplomatic forum for international cooperation in the Arctic  Eight Member States › Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, United States  Six Permanent Participants › Aleut International Association › Arctic Athabaskan Council › Gwich’in Council International › Inuit Circumpolar Council › Saami Council › Russian Association of Indigenous People of the North  Six working groups, three task forces, 1expert group 2 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Arctic Council meets every 2 years at the level of Foreign Ministers  This Ministerial marked the end of the Danish and start of the Swedish Chairmanships  Meeting took place in Nuuk, Nuuk, Greenland  Sec. Clinton, Sec. Salazar, Senator Murkowski, Lt. Gov. Treadwell on U.S. Delegation 3 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Standing Secretariat approved › Tromsø, Norway › To begin operations spring 2013 › Improved operational continuity › Improved institutional memory › Enhanced Russian translation  Clear criteria for observers › Existing observers continue › Pending observers to re-apply  China, European Commission, Italy, Japan, Rep. of Korea  3 NGOs 4 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Agreement on Cooperation in Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic › First legally-binding agreement negotiated under auspices of the Arctic Council › U.S.-Russia co-chair 5 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Binding agreement on all Parties to provide appropriate assistance in the event of a SAR incident  First agreement on any topic ever negotiated among the 8 Arctic nations  Highly collaborative spirit, all governments committed to positive outcome  2,801,911 sq. miles of aeronautical and maritime SAR coverage  Signed at AC Ministerial Meeting in Nuuk, Greenland, May 12, 2011 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State 6 Sec. Clinton signs SAR Agreement at Arctic Council meeting in Nuuk, Greenland,

 Based on 1979 IMO Maritime SAR Convention  Based on 1949 International Civil Aviation Convention (ICAO) – Annex 12 (SAR)  Art 3(3): Each Party shall promote the establishment, operation and maintenance of an adequate and effective SAR capability within its area  Art 7(3)(b): If a…Party receives information that any person is, or appears to be, in distress, that Party shall take urgent steps to ensure that the necessary assistance is provided  Art 7(3)(f): Parties shall ensure that assistance be provided to any person in distress. They shall do so regardless of the nationality or status of such a person or the circumstances in which that person is found  Art 9: generally on promoting cooperation among the Parties on SAR in the Arctic. Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State 7

 Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) released   Some big unanswered questions: › What will happen to Arctic Ocean ecosystems as freshwater is added? › How quickly could Greenland Ice Sheet melt? › How will Arctic cryospheric change affect the global climate? › How will changes affect Arctic societies? 8 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Opportunity to take rapid action to slow Arctic warming  U.S.-Norway co-led task force  Progress Report:  Focused on black carbon  Recommended mitigation options: › Transportation, esp. diesel engines › Residential heating › Open burning › Shipping 9 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010  Full report available at:  Key Findings: › Unique Arctic habitats disappearing › Majority of species stable or increasing, but some declining › Long-term observations required › Climate change is most significant stressor, but contaminants, habitat fragmentation, industrial development, and unsustainable harvest levels are having an impact 10 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Human Health Experts Group  SLCF TF work on black carbon, methane and tropospheric ozone  Follow-up activities pursuant to the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA)  Arctic Biodiversity Assessment due May 2013  Health, Safety and Environmental Management and the Use of Best Operating Practices for Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling – follow up on Offshore Oil and Gas Guidelines 11 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Task Force › U.S. & Russia to co-lead  Enhanced Oil Spill Prevention work  Ecosystem-Based Management › U.S. & Iceland to co-lead  Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks › Arctic Council to chair and IASC to vice-chair  Arctic Ocean Acidification  Arctic Human Development Report II (pending approval)  Food Security and access to good quality water (details to come from Sweden and ICC) 12 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Arctic Change Assessment › Comprehensive, cross-cutting synthesis looking at changes affecting Arctic  Arctic Resilience Project › Examining how to help communities and ecosystems be more resilient to changes affecting the Arctic  Arctic Maritime and Aviation Transportation Infrastructure Initiative  International Polar Decade 13 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State

 Sweden  Canada  United States Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State 14

15 Julia Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. Department of State