Posted on 05/27/2008 11:28:07 PM PDT by americanophile
ILULISSAT, Greenland (AFP) — Representatives of the five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean meet in Greenland on Wednesday to discuss the impact of climate change on the icy region -- and how to divide up its as-yet untapped rich resources.
The summit is the first to be held at the ministerial level between the five countries.
It is aimed at easing recent tensions as they each seek to extend their sovereignty to the Arctic waters that could hold 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas, according to the US Geological Survey.
Russia, Norway and Denmark will be represented at the meeting in Ilulissat in western Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, by their foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov, Jonas Gahr Stoere and Per Stig Moeller respectively.
The United States will be represented by its deputy foreign policy chief John Negroponte, and Canada by its Minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn.
The initiative for the summit was taken by Denmark and the head of the local Greenland government, Hans Enoksen.
The five countries "want to cooperate on the basis of international law and use scientific data when making decisions about territory," Lavrov told reporters in Copenhagen on the eve of the gathering.
The meeting begins at 07:30 a.m (1130 GMT) and is expected to conclude with a press conference at 2:45 p.m.
The rivalry between the five Arctic neighbours has heated up as the melting polar ice makes the region more accessible. Scientists say the Northwest Passage could open up to year-round shipping by 2050.
Denmark and Canada have a longstanding disagreement over who owns the tiny, uninhabited, ice-covered Hans island, which straddles Nares Strait between Greenland and Canada's Ellesmere Island.
Canada and the United States are at odds over the sovereignty of the Northwest Passage, which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Last year, Russian explorers claimed to have planted their national flag at the bottom of the ocean, at a depth of more than 4,000 metres, after an expedition aimed at underlining Moscow's aspirations to Arctic territory.
According to international law, each of the countries bordering the Arctic hold sovereignty over a zone measuring 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres).
That leaves 1.2 million square kilometres of unclaimed territory in an area believed to hold vast petroleum riches.
The UN convention on the Law of the Sea gives countries that are signatories to the treaty the possibility of challenging claims of seabed sovereignty if they want to assert their claims beyond the 200-nautical-mile zone. They have 10 years to do so after ratifying the convention.
Russia in 2001 submitted a request to the United Nations to extend its maritime territory, and Norway has done the same for the Svalbard archipelago.
"Turned left at Greenland."
powers?
Surprised Iceland was left out. Guess it is just too far south.
it’s capital is much closer to the pole than thw 5 nations listed.
“Canada and the United States are at odds over the sovereignty of the Northwest Passage, which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.”
Huh? So why did we bother with building the Panama Canal?
I’m pinging you to this article as a follow up to yesterday’s thread.
Russia signed in 1999, while Canada signed in 2003. The US has not signed, yet.
The 200 miles isn’t measured from the capital but from the coast line. Location of the house of government means very little in this case.
So we could give it away to Panama?
The Northwest Passage does not exist on a long enough time frame to be useful. If the Arctic warms enough above present levels, it could become a shipping lane.
“If the Arctic warms enough above present levels, it could become a shipping lane.”
Hmm, anothor positive aspect of global warming...
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