US Sec. of State John F. Kerry tried to emphasize cooperation as he assumed the Arctic Council's chairmanship for the next 2 years on the United States' behalf. He also did not hide the urgent concern he feels about accelerating climate change in the Far North.
"Our plan is centered on the idea that while all of us come to this council with different experiences and different perspectives, ultimately we all share one Arctic, and we have to do everything that we can to ensure that the interests and the future of this vital and sensitive region are protected," he said in Iqaluit, Canada, on Apr. 24.
"It is not going to come as a surprise to anyone that addressing climate change is a key pillar of the US chairmanship program, just as it is, in fact, a key part of US foreign policy writ large today," Kerry said.
That science is particularly alarming in the Arctic, he said. "This region is warming faster than any other region on Earth. Temperatures are increasing at more than twice the rate of the global average, and over the last 3 decades both the increase in temperatures and the corresponding decrease in sea ice observed in the Arctic are unprecedented in the last 1,500 years," he said.
Efforts should be redoubled to help Arctic residents adapt to climate impacts, and to prevent the worst effects from happening at all, by helping communities become more resilient, Kerry said. Steps also should be taken to curb black carbon and methane emissions, which are more destructive than carbon dioxide, he added.
Kerry said Arctic Ocean stewardship, safety, and security will be the US chairmanship's second pillar. The ocean's navigability expands as its ice continues to melt, leading to more human traffic and greater marine ecosystem risks, he explained.
More traffic, more risks
"More traffic on Arctic waters also means that our search-and-rescue exercises and our efforts to prevent and to respond to oil spills will have to be more important than ever," he said.
Ultimately, the US and all of its partners are committed to putting the people of the Arctic first, Kerry said. That's why the third and final pillar of the US stewardship is to improve the economic and living conditions of people-indigenous people-throughout Arctic communities, he said.
"The Arctic's economy and its environment are not divergent priorities," Kerry said. "On the contrary, they're inextricably linked. The people of the region tell us this all the time. So our policies have to ensure the protection of both."
It's a balance the US hopes to help Arctic nations strike for decades to come, he said.
