In the context of global climate change, the future challenges and business opportunities offered in the Arctic are increasingly under international scrutiny. Credit: Phillip Blaen, University of Birmingham, UK.

Dr Glücksman's Arctic Role

Dr Edvard Glücksman, Associate Research Fellow at the Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI), was in Reykjavik recently to moderate and jointly co-ordinate a workshop and breakout session, as part of the Arctic Circle Conference 2014.

The oversubscribed session, entitled 'Youth in the Arctic', aimed to create a space for young leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the rapidly developing Arctic region. One of the conference’s keynote speakers - the newly nominated US Special Representative to the Arctic, Admiral Robert J. Papp - addressed participants and outlined some of the youth-oriented strategies he wishes to implement during the 2015-17 US Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, a high-level intergovernmental forum that primarily addresses environmental protection and sustainable development issues in the Arctic.

Dr Glücksman was present in his capacity as a member of the Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy Network (ELEEP), a transatlantic joint venture between the Atlantic Council and Ecologic Institute think tanks. In this role, he co-founded the Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders Fellowship (ACCEL), which aims to train the next generation of Arctic ambassadors.

“We are absolutely delighted with the high turnout and interest in our event, which received a great deal of attention as a result of its broad international appeal as well as Admiral Papp’s discernible support. Our Arctic fellowship will hopefully make a difference in what is still an underrepresented yet vital subject area,” said Dr Glücksman.

The 'Youth in the Arctic' session brought ACCEL fellows and ELEEP members together with young leaders from the Barents Regional Youth Council, Reykjavik University, the Youth Arctic Coalition, as well as the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The session was the only event specifically dedicated to youth at last week’s Arctic Circle Assembly, which featured over 1,400 participants and high-level speakers, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Finnish President Sauli Niinstö, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, UNFCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, Québec Premier Philippe Couillard, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson.

Founded in 2011, ELEEP is funded by the European Union, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, and the Allianz Foundation for North America. At the ESI, Dr Glücksman works on water-based challenges to the mining industry, a project funded by the European Social Fund.

Date: 10 November 2014