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Climate Change Policy in the Arctic: The Cases of Greenland and Nunavut

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Book cover Climate Governance in the Arctic

Part of the book series: Environment & Policy ((ENPO,volume 50))

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Abstract

The Arctic is changing and undergoing a major transformation under the pressure of economic development and the threat of a vanishing subsistence culture, the unpredictable consequences of climate change and the increasing impact of global developments on local economic, legal and political settings. The shifting climate and dramatic changes of Northern landscapes and ecosystems also have implications for the well-being of Arctic communities. In reality, the effectiveness of governance systems in the Arctic is restrained by the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of individuals and institutional agencies to face global challenges such as climate change. By exploring the climate change policies and institutional capabilities of Greenland (Denmark), Nunavut (Canada’s Central and Eastern Arctic) and their nexus with the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), this chapter analyses the dimensions and the efforts of governmental and non-governmental institutions in addressing climate change issues in the Arctic.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In some Greenlandic communities there is a problem of feeding hunting dogs as the sea stopped freezing and dogs are left out of sledging jobs. See: Cathcart (2007); Woodard (2007).

  2. 2.

    In 2006 the GN spent $2.5 million on studies and the management plan for the Peary caribou. The NTI disputes federal estimates of the caribou. See: Inuit fear (2007).

  3. 3.

    See for example, “Adapting to Climate Change” In Northern Premier’s Forum (2007, pp. 12–13); GN (2004, 2007b); Lynge (2007b).

  4. 4.

    In the near future GHR plans to invest DKK 1.1. Billion in hydroelectric plants. (Greenland 2006; “Hydrogen and hydrogen”).

  5. 5.

    About Sila-Inuk project – A study of the impacts of climate change in Greenland which is conducted by ICC-Greenland in cooperation with the Association of Fishermen and Hunters in Greenland, see http://www.inuit.org. See also George (2007).

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Acknowledgments

This chapter has been prepared as a part of the CIGSAC project (Director Dr. T. Koivurova), grant 8110564 of the Finnish Academy of Sciences. I wish to thank Dr. Louis W. Pauly, Director, Centre for International Studies, Munk Centre, University of Toronto. I am also thankful to Professor Nigel Bankes, Faculty of Law, University of Calgary, for his valuable comments on this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Akureyri, Iceland and Research Associate, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A1

    Natalia Loukacheva

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  1. Natalia Loukacheva
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Correspondence to Natalia Loukacheva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Lompolotie 10, Rovaniemi, 96500, Finland

    Timo Koivurova

  2. Dept. Social &, Umea University, Umea, 901 87, Sweden

    E. Carina H. Keskitalo

  3. Fac. Law, University of Calgary, University Drive NW. 2500, Calgary, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Nigel Bankes

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Loukacheva, N. (2009). Climate Change Policy in the Arctic: The Cases of Greenland and Nunavut. In: Koivurova, T., Keskitalo, E., Bankes, N. (eds) Climate Governance in the Arctic. Environment & Policy, vol 50. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9542-9_13

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