EUs arktispolitikk: Høringsinnspill fra Energi i Nord

Høringsinnspill fra Energi i Nord til EUs nye arktispolitikk.

Energi i Nord har i tillegg sendt følgende innspill til Call for evidence:

The circumpolar Arctic is a varied and diverse region. There are vast differences in climate, culture, people and local communities. The European Arctic is a region of business, culture, tourism, academia, research and development, technology, and industry. Where many picture a polar bear drifting on a sheet of ice when they hear “Arctic”, we see robust, modern societies, infrastructure, resources, highly educated people with homes, families and futures in the European Arctic. Treating the Arctic as a uniform region, with the same need of protection and preservation implemented on all parts of it, will not help achieve the objectives the EU has set for itself. On the contrary – it will hinder economic development, and render unavailable critical resources of rare earth minerals, petroleum, fisheries, and renewable energy production that will benefit all of Europe.

Therefore, the EU should actively strengthen the businesses, research institutions and knowledge ecosystems that already exist in Arctic areas. To build knowledge about the Arctic — produced in the Arctic — is an effective means of strengthening our own Arctic regions. To build sustainable development for the Arctic, the region’s residents and the region’s own businesses, research institutions, and public-sector actors must play active roles when knowledge is produced and political decisions are made.

Close alliances and relationships between industry, public actors, and research communities in the region is also needed. The university alliance The Arctic Six, and The Arctic Six Extended, are good examples of such initiatives that should be supported and strengthened. The EU could contribute vastly to such alliances and networks by engaging more in the people who already live, invest and work in the Arctic.

In its Call for Evidence, the EU itself points out that its own funding system is an important tool for achieving the objectives of its Arctic policy. To succeed, the EU should place strong emphasis on prioritizing calls and ensuring funding for projects that actually build knowledge within the northern regions’ own business and research communities. Decision-makers both in Brussels and in the Nordic capitals must increasingly recognize that strong local ecosystems are key to succeeding in increasing the population, safeguarding sovereignty, building societal security and preparedness, meeting climate targets, and developing the new, green value chains of the future.