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wasted. From the first SAO session in Luleå through the concluding Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna,
the Swedish Chair kept one eye on the clock and a ready hand on the gavel. This was usually done in
most professional manner which allowed for some degree of traditional ―northern informality‖ and
humor while at the same time conveying the clear message that the Council had important work to
do and a limited period to conduct its business.
Sweden‟s Proposed Agenda for the Arctic Council
In assuming the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, Sweden followed the customary practice of
suggesting what would be the specific agenda items that members would like prioritized during its
term of office. Several of these proposals represented a continuation of themes initiated earlier
under the Scandinavian ―umbrella program‖ that had begun in 2007. Others represented ideas for
new undertakings that were reflective of distinctively Swedish interests and concerns. This proposed
agenda was presented under three major headings:
The
Environment
;
The People
(or the Human
Dimension); and
A Stronger Arctic Council
. Together they represented a specific plan of action for the
Council over the coming two years and pointed to desired accomplishments or ―deliverables‖ that
Sweden hoped to provide by the end of its term as chair in each of the three designated areas.
With regard to the environment, Sweden gave a renewed priority to the Council‘s continuing work
on climate change. It suggested, however, that in addition to focusing on the harmful effects of
long-lived greenhouse gases, the Council should move forward to consider the impact of short-lived
climate forcers (SLCF) such as black carbon which had their origins often within the Arctic region
itself. It also suggested that the Council should consider studying the capacity of natural and social
systems to adapt to climatic change and other major forces of potential disturbance in northern
polar areas. It supported the undertaking of an Arctic Change Assessment and pushed for the
creation of a specific research project on Arctic Resilience looking at the capacity of northern
ecosystems and communities to manage and overcome disturbances of a variety of types. Sweden
also continued to champion
the other environmental work of the Council by supporting
ongoing
research studies on biodiversity and environmental protection. It signaled its keen interest in having
pending reports addressing the state of the Arctic Ocean, Arctic biodiversity, and Arctic Ocean
acidification completed by the Council‘s working groups and having these available as ―deliverables‖
at the Ministerial Meeting in 2013. Sweden also suggested that the Council should do its utmost to
facilitate the conclusion of an international agreement on Marine Oil Pollution, Preparedness and
Response by the same time. This proposed legal agreement was deemed to address a major
environmental concern of the Arctic states and would be seen to represent a concrete policy action
of the Council.
Sweden‘s attention to the human dimension of the Arctic continued a theme advanced by its
Scandinavian neighbors, Norway and Denmark, in their earlier chairmanships. Sweden, however,
was to build upon and expand on the work of the Council in this area by giving new emphasis to
viewing the Arctic as ―home to the people who live there‖ (Bildt, 2011). Under the broad heading of
sustainable development, it suggested that a variety of research projects should be undertaken
including a revised Arctic Human Development Report II that would now include expanded