The west must work with Russia to save the Arctic
Jason Pack’s published Financial Times article, The west must work with Russia to save the Arctic, explores how amidst efforts to constrain further Russian aggression, there are areas we need to work with Moscow on - climate change and the preservation of the Artic. The lack of strong collective action approaches towards the climate crisis is a crucial component in our era of disorder, and one we will see unfolding in the Artic:
As disappearing sea ice and warming temperatures lead to competition for resources, territorial disputes, and increased maritime activity. [...] While thinning ice floes are making travel and hunting more hazardous for indigenous populations in the region, there are also alarming global ramifications, such as melting permafrost releasing 'trapped' bacteria, viruses and radiation.
Coordination with Russia and China without diminishing the West's ability to assist Ukraine or hold Moscow accountable is needed to prevent these possibilities from thawing into reality. As the tentative co-operation of the post-cold war era has eroded, the Arctic seemed to be the last bastion of a functional rules-based international order. Now, however, a combination of mutual distrust, sanctions and Ukraine-centred priorities threaten to make genuine collaboration difficult to achieve. Western governments must differentiate between areas of mutual interest and those which require a co-ordinated riposte to Moscow.
Read the full article here.
