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Authority in Arctic governance: changing spheres of authority in Greenlandic offshore oil and gas developments

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Abstract

The Arctic has rapidly transformed from a “frozen desert” into a theater for high-level politics. Climate change and socioeconomic interdependencies bring the World more and more to the Arctic and vice versa. Increased geological knowledge, new technologies, and high-energy prices make it possible to develop oil and gas resources in the Arctic; however, the effectiveness of oil spill response techniques remains a key concern. To understand oil and gas exploration in the Arctic governance setting, and especially the authority of Greenland, we combine a multi-level governance framework with the concept sphere of authority from post-international theory. The Arctic sphere of authority on oil and gas consists of many different governance arrangements, of which the most well-known governance arrangement is the Arctic Council. This paper focuses on the authority of Greenland in the changing oil and gas governance arrangements in the Arctic. Crucial is the changing Danish–Greenlandic relationship, in which the development of a Greenlandic oil and gas sector is seen as a tool to become financially independent. It can be concluded that the capacity of the Greenlandic government and civil society actors should be the primary guideline for the pace in which oil and gas activities are being developed. Taking this approach will ensure that the Greenland is retaining its central position and high degree of influence on the governance of oil and gas development in its country. Otherwise, it will lose influence and benefits will flow elsewhere.

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Notes

  1. Kiruna Declaration, Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, Kiruna Sweden, May 15, 2013.

  2. Denmark (Greenland), Canada, USA (Alaska), Russia, and Norway.

  3. Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

Abbreviations

ACIA:

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

BMP:

Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum Greenland

BP:

British Petroleum

CLCS:

Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

DCE:

Danish Centre for Environment and Energy

EU:

European Union

GEUS:

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

GINR:

Greenland Institute for Natural Resources

IA:

Inuit Ataqatigiit

MRA:

Mineral Resources Act

NGO:

Non-Governmental Organization

OGP:

International Association of Oil and Gas Producers

OSPAR:

Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment in the northeast Atlantic

SAR:

Search and Rescue

UNCLOS:

United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea

USA:

United States of America

USGS:

United States Geological Survey

WWF:

World Wildlife Fund

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Erik Huber, Taco Hoencamp, and Stefan Nijwening for their assistance, and we acknowledge Royal HaskoningDHV for making it possible to visit Nuuk, Greenland, and interviewing various local stakeholders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industry, Energy and Mining, Royal HaskoningDHV, London, United Kingdom

    Coco C. A. Smits

  2. Industry, Energy and Mining, Royal HaskoningDHV, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Coco C. A. Smits

  3. Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Jan P. M. van Tatenhove & Judith van Leeuwen

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  1. Coco C. A. Smits
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  2. Jan P. M. van Tatenhove
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Correspondence to Coco C. A. Smits.

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Smits, C.C.A., van Tatenhove, J.P.M. & van Leeuwen, J. Authority in Arctic governance: changing spheres of authority in Greenlandic offshore oil and gas developments. Int Environ Agreements 14, 329–348 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-014-9247-4

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