Akureyri, Iceland

SM Lassi H

 

«We are going through the times of turbulence, times of uncertainty in politics, but the Arctic states are committed to cooperation».

 

Lassi Heininen,

Professor, Editor-in-Chief of the Arctic Yearbook

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In her first major break with President Obama over environmental policy, Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she opposed drilling in the Alaskan Arctic because it is too dangerous. 

“The Arctic is a unique treasure,” Clinton announced in a personally-signed tweet. “Given what we know, it’s not worth the risk of drilling.”

The statement came just one day after the Obama administration gave final permitting approval for Royal Dutch Shell to to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi Sea, a move environmentalists fiercely oppose. It provides the latest indication that Clinton will move to the left on environmental policy: late last month she laid out a climate plan in which she pledged the U.S. would obtain 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2027, which exceeds Obama’s goal to generate 20 percent of America’s electricity by 2030. Right now, renewable energy accounts for 7 percent of the nation’s electric power supply.

The issue of drilling in the Arctic is a contentious one, and comes just two weeks before Obama is set to become the first U.S. president to ever visit the Alaskan Arctic. Obama has consistently defended the idea of drilling there despite potential risks, saying Shell had taken additional precautions under pressure from federal regulators. Speaking to reporters during a Camp David press conference in May, Obama emphasized that when it came to Arctic drilling, “nobody is more mindful of the risks involved and the dangers” given his experience with the Gulf of Mexico spill. He added that Shell had to “revamp its approach” based on stricter federal standards his officials authored.Arctic-Not-for-Sale

Shell declined to comment Tuesday on Clinton’s new offshore drilling position. On Monday, Shell spokesman Curtis Smith wrote in an e-mail that the company had already begun drilling in its Burger J well site in the Chukchi Sea on July 30 and now that it is allowed to explore oil-bearing zones, it would aim to drill deeper this month. 

“It’s possible we will complete a well this summer but we’re not attaching a timeline to the number of feet drilled,” Smith wrote. “Safe, efficient operations will ultimately determine the progress we make.”

Reid T. Porter, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, said in an e-mail the administration’s approval of drilling was “a good first step.”

“We hope all candidates understand the great potential America’s energy renaissance is having on job creation, generating massive revenue for the government and strengthening our national security,” Porter said.

arctic 2102835bEnvironmentalists, for their part, immediately praised Clinton’s decision to oppose drilling in the area.

“We applaud Secretary Clinton for standing up for what science, the will of the American people and common sense demand. She’s exactly right: everything we know about dangerous oil drilling in the Arctic indicates it imperils a national treasure and is guaranteed to make our climate crisis worse,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, in a statement. “Allowing Shell to use unproven technology in the Arctic is a recipe for disaster and toxic to any climate action legacy.” “Whomever the next president is will have the opportunity to back up words with action by denying Shell’s application to commercially drill in the Arctic,” Brune added. Many imperiled species live in the Arctic Ocean, and their plight has been exacerbated by the fact that it is warming faster than other regions in the globe. Walruses, many of which depend on sea ice that has been shrinking in recent years, are swimming through the Chukchi Sea right now, according to federal tracking data.

Lois Epstein, who directs The Wilderness Society’s Arctic program, said in an interview that Clinton’s statement not only “distinguishes her position from President Obama’s” but shows how she was taking the area’s specific ecological and technical conditions into account. In the case of an oil spill, she noted, the closest U.S. Coast Guard station is roughly 1,000 miles away, though there are some Coast Guard vessels in the region. “It does show some deeper thinking,” Epstein said. “I don’t think Hillary Clinton would have made that statement lightly, because it has a lot of implications.”

 

Source: Washington Post

11 Mar 2025
Winners of the 23rd Spirit of Fire Film Festival were awarded in Khanty-Mansiysk

 

On March 9, the closing ceremony of the XXIII International Festival of Cinematographic Debuts "Spirit of Fire" was held at the concert and theater center "Yugra-Classic" in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Members
10 Mar 2025
Meeting took place at Ugra State University

 

As part of his working visit to Khanty-Mansiysk, Executive Director Vladimir Vasilev attended a meeting at Ugra State University.

Northern Forum
10 Mar 2025
Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra appointed new regional coordinator to the Northern Forum

 

 

Deputy Director of the Department - Head of the External Relations Department Inna Arkanova was appointed as Regional Coordinator of the Northern Forum for Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug [ ... ]

Northern Forum
10 Mar 2025
Ruslan Kukharuk meets Vladimir Vasilev

 

On 9 March, Ruslan Kukharuk, Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, met with Vladimir Vasilev, Executive Director of the Northern Forum.

Northern Forum
05 Mar 2025
The cultural and ecological project «Friendship - Municipal Classical Gymnasium №8 and KISC»

 

News from a member of the Northern Forum Schools Association: On March 4, within the framework of the internationa cultural and ecological project «Friendship - Municipal Classical Gymnasium [ ... ]

News
02 Mar 2025
13 days remaining until the 10th International Scientific and Practical Conference «The Far East and the Arctic: Sustainable Development»

 

The event will be held on 13 and 14 March at the Rossiya Segodnya International Multimedia Press Centre and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

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6th Northern Sustainable Development Forum

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Yakutsk, Russia

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The Northern Youth Forum (NYF) is a youth wing of the Northern Forum, consisting of representatives of young people from the age of 16 to 40 years.

Mission of the NYF is to strengthen the spirit of trust and cooperation between young representatives of Northern regions and countries at the stage of personal and professional views’ formation.

Goal of the NYF is to promote the interests and views of young people in solving the problems facing the Northern Forum by using the potential of international youth cooperation.