Coverage

The Arctic Council’s ACAP Working Group approved a new project to collect black‑carbon emissions data from residential wood combustion and recommend cost‑effective measures across Arctic nations, including indigenous communities.

Arctic Council study finds modern wood‑burning stoves alone cannot curb black carbon; it recommends emission limits, fuel standards, training and inspections to improve air quality and slow climate change.

Martin Forsius, a Finnish research professor, has been elected chair of AMAP, pledging to strengthen data sharing and collaboration with the U.S. Arctic Council and LRTAP to address Arctic environmental challenges.

Renée Sauvé, a Fisheries and Oceans Canada biologist, has been named Chair of the Arctic Council’s PAME Working Group to guide marine environmental policy amid growing climate and shipping pressures.

The Arctic Council’s AMTP, led by PAME with Canada and the U.S., is developing best‑practice guidance for sustainable vessel‑based tourism in the Arctic.

Arctic communities use traditional ecological knowledge to detect environmental changes, and their insights are integrated by CAFF's CBMP to strengthen biodiversity monitoring.

Six indigenous organisations are Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council, holding full consultation rights and sharing the decision‑making table—an evolution from the 1991 AEPS supported by the Indigenous Peoples Secretariat.

AMAP’s latest assessment shows rising mercury levels in Arctic marine species due to long‑range transport from human activities, threatening indigenous diets and prompting calls for global emission cuts.

On Aug 26 NASA announced the lowest Arctic sea‑ice extent on record, underscoring a rapid melt trend that threatens Arctic ecosystems, communities, and future resource access.

In 2010, Arctic Council states signed the first legally binding Agreement on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue, establishing joint SAR responsibilities and cooperation across the Arctic.

In 2011, 80 delegates from eight Arctic Council member states met in Whitehorse, Yukon for the first Arctic Council Search and Rescue exercise, reviewing the Arctic SAR Agreement and exploring ways to improve aeronautical and maritime rescue capabilities across the Arctic.

Arctic Council ministers mandate a Task Force to draft a binding agreement on marine oil pollution preparedness and response, with drafts translated into French and Russian by 2012 and slated for presentation in 2013.

SAREX 2012, the first live Arctic search‑and‑rescue exercise, saw eight Arctic states coordinate in stormy seas off Greenland’s east coast to test SAR protocols amid rising maritime activity.

The Arctic Economic Council Secretariat opened in Tromsø, Norway on 8 September 2015, marking a rapid expansion of Arctic governance aimed at sustainable development, economic growth, and environmental protection.

The Arctic Council’s AACA project brings together 100+ researchers to study how multiple climate and socio‑economic drivers interact across key Arctic regions, providing decision makers with a science‑based basis for adaptation.

The Arctic Council approved a 2013‑2021 implementation plan, Actions for Biodiversity, to carry forward 17 ABA recommendations, guiding CAFF and other bodies on conservation and sustainable use of Arctic ecosystems.

The 2015 Progress Report reviews Arctic shipping progress against 17 AMSA recommendations, noting successes and gaps, and sets the agenda for discussion at PAME WG in Tromsø.

The Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) was launched in 2011 to promote multinational cooperation in Arctic data collection and sharing, operating through two committees and engaging a broad range of Arctic and non-Arctic actors.

The Arctic Council’s 2015‑2025 Arctic Marine Strategic Plan outlines 40 actions and an implementation plan to protect marine and coastal ecosystems, guiding future Council work under senior officials’ oversight.

The Arctic Council’s Scientific Cooperation Task Force met in Copenhagen to draft a legally binding agreement aimed at enhancing scientific collaboration, data access, and movement of researchers and equipment across the Arctic.

PAME and CAFF are collaborating on a 2015‑2017 project to map, assess gaps, and advise on the Arctic’s marine protected and important areas, building on Arctic Council policies and frameworks.

The Arctic Biodiversity Data Service is an online, interoperable platform that centralizes CAFF-generated data to support research, management, and policy‑making on Arctic wildlife and ecosystems.

The Arctic Council’s EPPR workshop in Washington, D.C. reviewed lessons from 2014, updated operational guidelines, and scoped a 2016 oil‑spill exercise, reinforcing cross‑nation coordination.

The CBMP, in partnership with Michigan Tech Research Institute, has released a satellite‑derived Land Cover Change Index that tracks Arctic land and sea temperature and productivity changes since the 1970s.

In October 2015, senior Arctic officials in Anchorage approved key policies on climate change, biodiversity, Indigenous welfare, and unmanned aerial system safety, moving the Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat to Tromsø and shaping Arctic governance.