The 'good' news is that on 15th May, the chair of the Arctic Council was handed over to Canada. Does this mean that Stephen Harper's shadow - if not his person - will precide over future procedings? Well we have 2 years to find out. At the moment this is what the new chair had to say: 'The theme of Canada’s chairmanship is “development for the people of the North,” with a focus on responsible Arctic resource development, safe Arctic shipping and sustainable circumpolar communities'.
Interestingly the new Canadian Council minister is Leona Aglukkaq, an Inuit from Nunavut. As for the burgeoning oil industry 'In May 2013, the Arctic states signed an Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic. The Council has also begun working on oil-pollution prevention. This work will continue during Canada’s chairmanship. Effective action to prevent oil pollution is critical to ensuring the protection of the Arctic marine environment'. Welcome to cloud cuckoo land... .
Closer to home, our attention was turned towards Cairn Energy, who are seriously contemplating returning to the Arctic next year. At their AGM 2 weeks ago (16 May) Friends of the Earth Scotland activists along with a few 'neutral' Greenpeace supporters, dressed up as cowboys - personifying the oil industries cowboy approach - protested outside Cairn HQ in Edinburgh. Apparently good fun was had by all as you can see from these pictures taken at the event!
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