ROVANIEMI, Finland -- The United States government has refused to sign the agreement that recognizes the challenges in the Arctic Region. They claim that there are discrepancies over the wording referring to the climate change, diplomats say. Such refusal jeopardizes the cooperation among countries in the polar region as we continue to face the sharp edge of climate change that is making survival even more difficult at this time.
The temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as how it rises in the other parts of the world. The melting of the ice creates both risks and opportunities for the world. The melting causes an increase in the water levels in the oceans, which results to the flooding of low-lying areas across the globe. However, such melting also results to new shipping lanes that have opened opportunities for the untapped oil and gas reserves for economic exploitation.
The meeting of representatives from eight nations bordering the Arctic region was held in Rovaniemi, Finland was to draft a two-year agenda to strike a balance between the challenges that come with the effects of global warming and the mining of the discovered natural wealth for sustainable economic work.
However, sources with the knowledge of what transpired during the meeting said that the US government refused to sign the declaration as it did not agree with the wording in the documents. In particular, they did not confer with the statement that the challenges of global warming has become a serious threat in the Arctic region. This was the first cancellation of a declaration by the Arctic Council since it was formed in 1996.
In a brief statement, the ministers from Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and the US restated their all-out commitment to develop sustainable practices for the protection of the environment and community in the Arctic Region. Except for the US, all the other participants wanted to go further with the declaration.
"Majority of us wanted to acknowledge the significant role that global warming plays in the survival of the Arctic Region. We wanted to show that urgency is needed to mitigate and adapt the action and resilience of those suffering from the harsh effects of climate change," said Timo Soini in a statement.
"I don't want to name people or blame anyone for such failure," he further added.
A senior US State Department officer denied the allegations that the government refused to sign the agreement to take on environmental action.
"There were several versions of the declaration and the US was ready to sign," an official said (whose name cannot be disclosed as he opted for anonymity.
"The problem in the Arctic is not a scenario of the future. It is happening right this moment," said Margot Wallstrom, Swedish Foreign Minister as she addressed the council in a statement.
