Britain Should Appoint Ambassador to the Arctic

The committee of lawmakers from Britain's upper house blamed UK's feeble approach to promoting country's interests and warned about the UK risks being outmaneuvered by other countries.

 

The UK – the northernmost country below the Arctic Circle - has been "too hesitant and cautious", the report said.

 

The Committee’s report, responding to a changing Arctic, concludes that momentous and unprecedented change is underway in the Arctic, with temperatures there rising twice as fast as the world average. 

 

This will have a massive impact on the region’s environment, ecosystems and people and presents both huge challenges and opportunities.

 

Arctic fish stocks will need better monitoring as sea ice recedes, while more should be done to look at whether oil and gas extraction in the region can be done safely, it said.

 

"Every effort should be made to insulate Arctic cooperation from geopolitical tensions arising in other parts of the world because there is a global interest in protecting this unusually vulnerable environment," it said.

 

Commenting Lord Teverson, Chairman of the Committee, said: “The Arctic is changing in front of our eyes. That change is momentous and unprecedented. It will bring both difficulties and opportunities and it is vital that the UK takes this challenge seriously and is able to respond to it – indeed, is positioned as the premier partner for Arctic states and other interests in Arctic co-operation as that change happens."