U.S. sinks Arctic accord due to climate change differences - diplomats

[babylonsister]

May 7, 2019 / 6:48 AM / Updated 3 hours ago
U.S. sinks Arctic accord due to climate change differences - diplomats
Simon Johnson

4 Min Read

ROVANIEMI, Finland (Reuters) - The United States has refused to sign an agreement on challenges in the Arctic due to discrepancies over climate change wording, diplomats said on Tuesday, jeopardising cooperation in the polar region at the sharp edge of global warming.

With Arctic temperatures rising at twice the rate of the rest of the globe, the melting ice is creating potential new shipping lanes and has opened much of the world’s last untapped reserves of oil and gas to commercial exploitation .

A meeting of eight nations bordering the Arctic in Rovaniemi in Finland on Tuesday was supposed to frame a two-year agenda to balance the challenge of global warming with sustainable development of mineral wealth.

But sources with knowledge of the discussions said the United States balked at signing a final declaration as it disagreed with wording that climate change was a serious threat to the Arctic.

It was the first time a declaration had been cancelled since the Arctic Council was formed in 1996.

Instead, in a brief statement, ministers from the United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland repeated their commitment to sustainable development and the protection of the Arctic environment.

Except for the United States, other nations had wanted to go further, participants said.

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https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN1SD13W?fbclid=IwAR3aOdptMI2myLwd1BeAlEf60NacTcmZsRT-MAFKtuH9ZzAZlnsxwwZYP7k

[SunSeeker]

1. Trump abhors reality. nt

[moondust]

2. Pooty call.

Russia's anemic economy probably needs the boost from Arctic exploitation and Pooty knows the U.S. has more leverage than him to stop the agreement. He may have told Donny over the phone to kill it.