The Arctic region became a beneficiary of better diplomatic relations in the 1980s as tensions eased during the Cold War. Mikhail Gorbachev’s call for preserving the Arctic’s ecosystem and ending military competition paved the way for an agreement of “Arctic exceptionalism,” where geopolitical rivalries are put aside for an environmentally crucial region where Europe, North America, and Asia converge. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has put the Arctic Council and the spirit of cooperation at risk, with its western members refusing a business-as-usual approach with Moscow. This has resulted in a lack of access to crucial data and a pause in joint projects, which is significant since 40% of the Arctic is Russian. Additionally, natural resources in the region, which are more accessible due to disappearing sea ice, are being used to mitigate the effects of Putin’s war and climate change. This has led Russia to collaborate with China on Arctic projects and prioritize an energy superhighway between Europe and Asia. The risk of the breakdown of collaboration in the region and Russia’s pivot to the east could lead to an Arctic area with no clear goal for combating climate change. With the first ice-free Arctic summers predicted to happen in the 2030s, the world must address the dangerous geopolitical uncertainty in the far north.
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