6 Ways In Which The US, Led By Tillerson, Weakened The Arctic Council Declaration

[hatrack]

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But on May 9, the negotiators received a new version of the declaration from the United States that asked for six changes—all downplaying climate risks, the need for the Paris treaty or ambitious renewable energy goals. Negotiators spent a long morning huddled around a table, working line-by-line through the document projected on a screen. The other nations challenged the U.S. on every point, often joined by the indigenous groups.

Because the negotiation process is closed to the public—and even to the groups with observer status at the Arctic Council—draft versions of the declaration are confidential. InsideClimate News obtained a copy of the May 9 version, with track-change suggestions by the State Department's acting assistant secretary, Judith Garber. ICN spoke with multiple sources who were part of the negotiations. They all spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the talks.

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The council noted "with concern that the Arctic Ocean could be largely free of summer ice in two decades, that melt processes in the Arctic may have greater impact on global sea level rise than previously estimated, and that changes in the Arctic may be affecting weather in mid-latitudes."

Each point referred to a finding of the SWIPA report, a study that involved hundreds of scientists and which synthesized peer-reviewed science on various Arctic-related issues. The United States asked to delete that paragraph entirely. Though the final version "notes with concern" the report's findings and calls for the adoption of the report's recommendations, it does not include the actual findings.

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After the text was finalized during the negotiators' long morning meeting on May 10, it was sent to Tillerson, who was on a flight to Fairbanks at the time. He signed off on the document within about 20 minutes, according to a person who took part in the talks and spoke on the condition of anonymity. By the time the senior ministers from the Arctic countries—Canada; Denmark; Finland; Iceland; Norway; Russia; Sweden and the U.S.—walked into a planned dinner that evening, each of the countries had agreed to the new language.

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ttps://insideclimatenews.org/news/18052017/arctic-council-climate-change-rex-tillerson-donald-trump

[enough]

1. Working link:

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18052017/arctic-council-climate-change-rex-tillerson-donald-trump

Thanks hatrack for your constant vigilance.