ИСТИНА

Climate change in the Arctic region has had a profound impact on critical marine and terrestrial ecosystems and nature-based livelihoods. The impact of melting ice and snow caps has led to a new focus on the region’s economic potential, especially in view of the prospect of faster shipping routes, and the estimated vast deposits of hydrocarbons and growing fish stocks. Local, regional and international cooperation has been deemed essential to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change in the Arctic, as well as to ensure sustainable economic development of the region. Concerns related to environmental, economic and human security have thus featured high on the agendas of key Arctic stakeholders. Cooperation in the Arctic Region firstly, the impact of climate change, and the damage and anxieties flowing from it, concerns all the Arctic stakeholders. The implications of thawing permafrost, changing weather and sea current patterns, and potential loss of species, for instance, extend also beyond the boundaries of the Arctic region itself. Notable unpredictability in the scientific projections of the large-scale environmental changes a foot continues to characterise joint efforts in understanding, anticipating and managing the ongoing transformation. Second, the envisaged economic opportunities in the region are greatly affected by regional political developments. Political stability is crucial for the Arctic states’ attempts to create a favourable environment for investment and financial risk-taking. Cooperation is also essential for the attempts to adequately manage the risks and safety concerns associated with increasing economic activity; that is, to strive for sustainable economic development in the Arctic. Consequently, climate change is having a major impact on the Arctic and it is accelerating, with inevitable implications for ecological, social and economic conditions in the vulnerable Arctic biosphere. Melting ice creates new opportunities for the extraction of oil and gas and for opening up new shipping routes. Prices on the energy and raw materials market, as well as the availability of infrastructure for the use of the new shipping routes, will affect the extent to which economic activity can be developed in the region. Of course, the impact of climate change and the new economic opportunities are of importance to the Arctic states.