US names new Arctic envoy in push to expand reach in region
Source: Associated Press
Matthew Lee, Ap Diplomatic Writer
Updated 4:41 pm CDT, Wednesday, July 29, 2020
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday named a special envoy for the Arctic, filling a post that had been vacant for more than three years as the administration seeks a greater role in the region and tries to blunt growing Russian and Chinese influence there.
The State Department's appointment of veteran career diplomat Jim DeHart to be U.S. coordinator for the Arctic came just a week after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed enhanced U.S. engagement in the Arctic on a visit to Denmark and a month after the White House ordered the construction of a fleet of new icebreakers to ply the region by 2029.
The U.S. opened a consulate in Denmark's semi-autonomous territory of Greenland earlier this year as part of its new Arctic strategy, and Pompeo met with officials from Greenland and the Faroe Islands while he was in Copenhagen.
. . .
Environmentalists criticized Pompeo last year when he spoke at an Arctic Council event in Finland and said the U.S. and others should exploit changes, including sharp reductions in ocean ice, for economic benefit, including the opening of new sea lines and greater opportunities for energy and mineral extraction.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/US-names-new-Arctic-envoy-in-push-to-expand-reach-15442681.php
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"including sharp reductions in ocean ice, for economic benefit". By all means, lets break up more Arctic ice, while they're having record high temperatures. We're just not environmentally screwed enough already.
