Policy

Norway is asking the European Union to remove its moratorium on new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, a move that could unlock additional exploration projects across the region.

The U.S. Department of War’s Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies and the Army Cold Regions Research & Engineering Office announced the International Cooperative Engagement Program for Polar Research (ICE‑PPR), a partnership aimed at broadening international scientific collaboration on Arctic research.

Melting sea ice and other stressors are driving a catastrophic mortality event that has cut the Pacific gray whale population from about 20,000 in 2019 to fewer than 13,000 today. With an estimated 2,500‑8,000 deaths this year, environmental groups urge NOAA to relist the species under the Endangered Species Act while the Trump administration threatens to ignore the request.

The International Energy Agency’s chief called on the European Union to lift its moratorium on drilling in the Arctic, suggesting a shift in policy that could affect future investment and energy supply in the region.

At a March House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Arctic security, Representative Carlos Giménez (R‑Fla.) warned the U.S. must not fall behind as icebreakers become tools of great‑power competition.

Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu, provost of the University of Northern British Columbia, has been elected to the board of the University of the Arctic, adding UNBC expertise to UArctic’s governance and fostering stronger circumpolar research collaboration.

Norway had been helping to oversee Soviet nuclear sites in the Arctic for a quarter‑century, but Russia’s recent war has broken that international cooperation and left the broader legacy unmanaged.

A new partnership between the Alaska Federation of Natives and Alaska Native Rural Veterinary Inc. has launched a program that brings spay/neuter, vaccination, and routine veterinary care to villages such as Galena on the Yukon River, aiming to curb dog overpopulation and prevent zoonotic diseases like rabies in remote Arctic communities.

The U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force announced a new Maritime Proposition to establish a continuous maritime presence across the High North, North Atlantic, and Baltic, aiming to deter Russian activity through integrated, hybrid naval capabilities backed by a £1.5 billion investment.

A lone caribou was seen near the Hulahula River in ANWR in 2019.

Yamal LNG, Russia’s largest LNG export hub, produced over 21 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas in 2024 and earned $8.4 billion from European buyers in 2025, yet its full life‑cycle emissions are estimated at more than 50 million tonnes CO₂‑equivalent per year—far above the figures disclosed in corporate reports.

Undersecretary Matt Lohmeier toured Joint Base Elmendorf‑Richardson and Eielson from June 22‑24 to assess construction and modernization opportunities, backing a nearly $11 billion FY 2027 budget request that will strengthen Alaska’s role as the U.S. homeland defense and Pacific power projection hub.

On 10 June, Greenland Energy’s spokesman Robert Price told residents of Ittoqqortoormiit that the Texas firm had permits for equipment placement and was preparing to drill two wells in Jameson Land, but Greenland’s mineral‑resources ministry said no active exploration permissions exist and the company’s proposals are pending approval.

The U.S. Department of Justice settled lawsuits filed by Alaska and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority that challenged the 2024 oil‑and‑gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, clearing the federal government's authority over the area.

Senator Bill Wielechowski says the Glenfarne natural‑gas pipeline earns about $5 billion a year while paying no corporate income tax, and that SB 180’s added provisions—such as hard deadlines and a $5 price cap—would undermine financing even though the project already holds all permits.

The Department of Justice has resolved lawsuits that contested the 2024 restrictions on oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plain, altering the permitting framework for potential future drilling.

Prime Minister Justin Carney unveiled new NATO defence partnerships at the 2026 summit, signalling Canada’s heightened commitment to securing the Arctic in light of evolving North American security challenges.

Canada’s Liberal government announced a plan to modernize and expand its military presence in the Arctic earlier this year.