Foreign Minister Stubb to attend the Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council in Tromsø, Norway
Press release 117/2009
27 April, 2009
Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will take part in the Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council to be held in Tromsø, Norway on Wednesday, 29 April. The main theme of the meeting is environmental protection and promotion of sustainable development in Arctic areas.
Climate change is progressing in Arctic areas faster than has been predicted. Warming is bringing about changes in the ice conditions of the North Sea and causing the biodiversity of nature to suffer. Climate change also impedes, in particular, the livelihood of indigenous peoples. The rising need for energy and the natural gas and oil reserves discovered, in turn, increase navigation and commercial activity in Arctic regions.
The Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council will hear an evaluation of the future increase in marine shipping in the area and the state of marine ecosystems in the area This evaluation report, entitled the ‘Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment’ and drawn up under the leadership of Finland, the United States and Canada, contains important recommendations focused on improving environmental and other safety, to be implemented, among others, by the International Maritime Organization, IMO.
Although not a state on the rim of the Arctic Sea, as a state in the North, Finland has long-term knowledge of Arctic winter navigation and solid expertise in the sectors of shipbuilding, ice and weather service, energy supply and oil spill response in icy conditions.
The Arctic Council is a cooperation organ with eight member countries: the Nordic countries, the Russian Federation, Canada and the United States. In addition, representatives of indigenous peoples take part in the Arctic Council’s work. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council lasts for two years. At the Ministerial Meeting in Tromsø, chairmanship of the Arctic Council will pass from Norway to Denmark.
The day before the Ministerial Meeting, on Tuesday, 28 April, a conference convened at the initiative of Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and former US Vice President Al Gore, entitled ‘Melting Ice; Regional Dramas, Global Wake-Up Call’, will take place in Tromsø. At the conference, Foreign Minister Stubb will present Finland’s experiences of Baltic Sea protection and Finland’s Arctic know-how.
Additional information: Juha Kirstilä, Press Attaché to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 552 8200, Counsellor Jyrki Kallio, mobile tel. +358 40 834 4846, and Mikko Hautala, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 834 6758.