Environment and security: challenges in the High North
Paris, 5 June 2007 - On Tuesday the WEU Assembly recommended adopting a global strategy recognising the importance of the High North in the face of the challenges posed by climate change and energy supply.
Presenting a report on “Security in the High North” on behalf of the Political Committee, Mr Pedro Agramunt (Spain, Federated Group) underlined the Assembly´s intention “to send a clear signal” to the G8 leaders meeting at the end of this week in Germany. “We are expecting farsighted decisions” on climate change, particularly in regard to the High North where, with the melting ice sheet, “the changes are more visible and happening more rapidly than anywhere else on the planet”.
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“The receding ice”, added Mr Agramunt “opens up new opportunities for gas and oil exploration, particularly in the Barents Sea, but also for military activity”. The High North was home to 25% of the world´s oil reserves and, with gas resources as well, it might become “Europe´s future energy region”.
“Our aim must be to develop an integrated policy on energy supply and climate protection”, the Rapporteur said, stressing the shared responsibility of ensuring that the High North remained “an area of low tension in the world”. The report points out that Russia´s ongoing military build-up, and in particular the modernisation of its submarine fleets, “may affect the security balance in the High North which provides Russia with its sole access to the Atlantic”.
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Co-Rapporteur, Odd Einar Dørum (Norway), underlined his country´s ambition “to continue to be a reliable and stable energy supplier”.
Mrs Liv Stubholt, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and guest speaker at the Assembly´s debate, felt that “the Russian Northern Fleet is not a direct military threat to Norway”, adding “we must not promote a cold-war climate in the High North. We must be neither bellicose nor naïve. Russia is part of the solution”. Mrs Stubholt welcomed the fact that the EU programme on the “Northern Dimension” had evolved into a joint policy including Norway, Russia, Iceland and Finland on an equal footing.
During the debate several parliamentarians called for the widest possible ratification of the Kyoto protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
