Iceland review - 2019, Page 16

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Iceland Review
that both of these comments were made for
Chinese ears, rather than Icelandic ones.
Climate change
For centuries, the Arctic has been of little
international consequence. As climate
change continues to ravage the planet,
however, the region is warming up. Three
hundred billion tonnes of ice melted off
the Greenland glacier this summer. The
continuous melting of this freshwater is
changing the makeup of the Arctic Ocean.
Ocean acidification is wreaking havoc
on underwater ecosystems. Aside from
the effect this has on the global ecosys-
tem, melting ice and receding glaciers
are revealing hitherto unreachable land
and waters, making the ears of investors,
entrepreneurs, and politicians all over the
world perk up.
Climate change is one of Iceland’s
stated focuses in its leadership of the
Arctic Council, but it’s difficult to find
a local solution to a global problem. As
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former President
of Iceland, put it, “The future of the Arctic
is decided in other parts of the world, on
other continents. The way we use energy;
pollution; increased carbon dioxide
release; will have uncontrollable conse-
quences for the future of the Arctic.”
While Iceland’s intentions may be to
prioritise action on climate change, inter-
national politics are once again interfering.
Last spring, the Council didn’t release a
joint statement as is usual, because the US
Secretary of State wouldn’t sign a state-
ment which mentioned climate change.

Opportunities and interest
Recently, a vessel owned by Russian gas
company Novatek sailed the northeast
route from Russia to China in record
time. The voyage took 16 days, and no
icebreakers were needed to clear the way.
According to Novatek, the northeast route
takes less than half the time it takes to
sail west through the Suez Canal. Indeed,
Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarsson has stated that
the effects of the opening of sailing routes
through the Arctic are comparable to
those of the Suez and Panama Canals when
they first went into operation.
In light of that comparison, it’s obvious
that control of Arctic waterways could
become extremely lucrative. In Iceland,
some investors are already thinking to
the future. A planned container port in
remote Finnafjörður fjord is expected to
connect Asia, Europe, and the US. The
project has been heavily criticised by
environmentalists.
In addition to new trading routes,
Arctic resources such as fish stocks are
changing with the climate. For some stocks
this means less fish, but in other cases,
fish species that tend to live further south
are migrating north as the water heats
up. As the Greenland glacier and sea ice
in the Arctic melt, access to oil drilling
and mining opportunities becomes easier
and therefore more profitable. While it
might seem callous to consider business
opportunities as climate change ravages