Arctic Council Schedules Emergency Meeting

As international tensions rise, Arctic nations will meet to discuss a way forward.

Mira MacNeill | November 20th, 2021.

This Tuesday, November 23rd, the Arctic Council will meet to discuss various issues.

The Arctic Council is an organization consisting of countries who fall inside the arctic circle: Canada, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, The United States, Iceland, and Denmark. The council also includes representatives from the Indigenous groups of the Arctic.

In the wake of climate change and ever-increasing area for exploration and industry in the Arctic, discussions have been made among Arctic Council members on how the sea should be used, and who should have access to it.

The council is seeking to discuss, among other things, the possible extension of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is an offshore zone that "belongs" to a country wherein the have exclusive access to all industry.

Currently the EEZ for all countries, as mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is up to 200 nautical miles from shore. Some Arctic countries are interested in pushing this up to 400 nautical miles.

As of right now, countries are able to apply to find industry outside of their EEZs in the arctic through the International Seabed Authority. Canada and Japan have been extracting oil in the Arctic outside of Canada's EEZ since 2022, after applying through the ISA.

Not every Arctic country recognizes the ISA however. In recent months Russia has increased their military presence in the Arctic, threatening Canadian and Norwegian waters and airspace.

In the wake of this, and the recent presence of a Spanish armada off the coast of Iceland, a meeting has been set for the Arctic countries to meet and find a way forward. There will be discussions of EEZ, as well as sustainability concerns and potential new trade routes through the arctic.

Keep an eye here for further updates on the situation in the Arctic.