Plain-language synthesis of key findings of Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, for policymakers and broader public.

The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was prepared by an international team of over 300 scientists, experts, and knowledgeable members of indigenous communities. The report has been thoroughly researched, is fully referenced, and provides the first comprehensive evaluation of arctic climate change, changes in ultraviolet radiation and their impacts for the region and for the world. It is illustrated in full color throughout. The results provided the scientific foundations for the ACIA synthesis report - Impacts of a Warming Arctic - published by Cambridge University Press in 2004.

This title was first published in 2002. This volume examines the norms of international law that apply to the planning stage of large-scale activities such as hydrocarbon exploitation, mineral extraction and forestry. These stationary activities (those that remain at a single location for a period of time), pose grave risks to the Arctic environment, since the development of technology has made it profitable to exploit natural resources even in such harsh regions.

This book offers a diverse and groundbreaking account of the intersections between modernities and environments in the circumpolar global North, foregrounding the Arctic as a critical space of modernity, where the past, present, and future of the planet’s environmental and political systems are projected and imagined. Investigating the Arctic region as a privileged site of modernity, this book articulates the globally significant, but often overlooked, junctures between environmentalism and sustainability, indigenous epistemologies and scientific rhetoric, and decolonization strategies and governmentality. With international expertise made easily accessible, readers can observe and understand the rise and conflicted status of Arctic modernities, from the nineteenth century polar explorer era to the present day of anthropogenic climate change.

Significant growth in economic activity in the Arctic has added weight to the argument that projects must be developed responsibly and sustainably. Addressing growing concerns regarding the exploitation of the Arctic's natural resources, this timely book presents and evaluates examples of best practice in Arctic environmental impact assessment. Timo Koivurova and Pamela Lesser succinctly synthesise primary data gathered from interviews with local communities, indigenous peoples, NGOs, government officials and businesses in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Greenland, Iceland, Canada, Russia and the USA. Considering all stakeholder perspectives, they present the regulatory processes of all eight Arctic countries, and also provide helpful flowcharts that depict the process graphically for each country. Measuring these practices against the 1997 Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment in the Arctic, the only Arctic environmental impact assessment guidance document that has been officially approved by the ministers of all eight Arctic countries, this book identifies key areas where adherence to best practice is high, such as stakeholder outreach and development, as well as those areas that fall short. Thorough and accessible, Environmental Impact Assessment in the Arctic will provide an excellent reference for academics in the fields of law and environmental studies as well as for government officials and stakeholders who stand to benefit from best practice.

HauptbeschreibungThe Arctic in the 21st century is exposed to multiple challenges. Global warming will have far-reaching repercussions, and thus will open up new opportunities. The melting of the ice enables the exploitation of resources and the use of new shipping routes, which were not accessible up to now. However, these opportunities require new responsibilities, which have to be taken seriously. These developments in the Arctic partake an increasing position in the international environmental discussion. The present book contains a comprehensive analysis of the current problems with regar.