EU paper on climate change and international security

The case of the Arctic

12 March 2008 senior researcher Svend Aage Christensen, DIIS, was interviewed by the Russian newspaper RBK Daily on the international consequences of the search for energy resources in the Arctic. The questions of the newspaper were prompted by the release of a joint paper by the EU Commission and the Secretary‑General/High Representative concerning " Climate change and international security ".

Christensen stated, i.a., that he did not expect any tensions in the Arctic in the near future. The most important task in the years to come would the drawing of the boundaries between the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of various countries. He went on to say that there are rules in international law for this and that he expected all questions of that kind to be solved on the basis of scientific data and within the existing legal regime.

Asked how he thought that the rivalry in the Arctic would go on, he said that he thought rivalry was the wrong word and that he did not see any rivalry of the kind that would lead to tensions. “Once the EEZ's have been defined, everybody will be hard pressed to find enough experts and enough equipment for the exploitation of the energy resources. This could be a win-win situation for all and I expect a lot of international cooperation in that field”, he said.

The RBK Daily article of 12 March 2008 (in Russian).

Contact: Senior researcher Svend Aage Christensen,

Information about The Danish Continental Shelf Project can be found here.

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