Arctic 2050: Mapping the Future of the Arctic – High North News

Tero Vauraste, Regional Director Europe at ICEYE and Global Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Centre shared concrete examples of space solutions for the Arctic. ICEYE is the global leader in small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology. customized for frequent delivery of high-resolution imagery.

Space solutions can be used for earth observations with predictive capabilities, e.g. for predicting climate-change caused disasters. ICEYE provides technology with the capacity to see through the clouds in the Arctic and the data and solutions can be used as by researchers as by businesses.

Jan Dusik, Sustainable Development & Governance Lead, WWF Arctic Programme brought attention to the importance of long-term vision in the Arctic over short-term gains. According to Mr Dusik, clean economic development in the Arctic is possible but needs concrete commitments such as zero-carbon solutions, environmental impact assessments, participation of local and indigenous stakeholders and evaluation of Arctic project resilience.

Furthermore, global solutions in, e.g., shipping with sustainable flues and shipbuilding would be beneficial for the Arctic. It is important to operate on a precautionary basis and set some boundaries, like in the case of the InternationalAgreementto Prevent UnregulatedFishingin the High Seas of theCentral Arctic Ocean.

All in all, sustainable business is possible in the Arctic, but it would require much more than just adding the word sustainable to the documents, concluded Mr Dusik.

Felix Tschudi, Chairman and owner of the Tschudi Group presented a scenario for the Northern Sea Route development until 2031. In the discussed scenario, the NSR becomes the preferred transportation route due to its environmental benefits, with zero-emissions operating vessels.

Mr Tschudi emphasised that in the next few years there will be a window of opportunity for international companies to invest in suitable tonnage vessels meeting sustainability criteria to operate the NSR. He also commented on the future of the Arctic as a producer of renewable energy and hydrogen, and on the opportunity of the region to become the platform for green industrial processing.

Kjell Stokvik, Director at the Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL) commented on the importance of education and development of specific courses as part of CHNL work. Furthermore, Mr Stokvik urged for more Arctic investments and business cross-border cooperation.

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Arctic 2050: Mapping the Future of the Arctic - High North News