The Theater of Absurdity

We are in Tromsø, Northern Norway, to cover the Arctic Frontiers conference, as we have for the past ten years. Not long ago, we walked around the conference venues with a couple of other journalists, and I can still remember the first time I met a Swedish colleague in the media room. 

Now, the panelists have to divide their attention among tens of international journalists, competing with Asian tourists for the city's overpriced hotel rooms. 

That speaks volumes about the attention directed toward the Arctic, for better or worse. 

The bigger picture is about Greenland. Several Danish and Greenlandic top politicians are here to network, speak, have meetings, and do interviews. 

New world order 

Aaja Chemnitz, a member of the Danish parliament, generously shares her time and repeats the message that has become Greenland's mantra: Greenland is not for sale. 

To High North News, she says that the new world order requires Greenland to spend more on defense than diplomacy.

There is something absurd in watching one politician after another declare solidarity with Greenland from the conference stage in Tromsø. Not long ago, the climate crisis and a plastic-filled whale dominated the news. 

And it's not any less absurd that we are talking about strengthening security in the North, against whom? It used to be Russia. Now, the US is the biggest threat. 

"But NATO is not wobbling anymore," Commentator Arne O. Holm heard here in Tromsø. 

"That is good to know, of course, but how are the Arctic civil societies doing at a time when astronomical sums are being poured into weapons and military personnel?" asks Holm. 

While we keep reporting from 69 degrees North, other developments also taking place in the Arctic. 

Read about a possible crab venture in Svalbard. And that the polar bear is doing better than expected.

Also, read science journalist Birgitte Annie Hansen's interview about the new Arctic Noir genre, emerging from the dark, gloomy, and cold surroundings of the North. 

We also report on the extreme drug prices that make Greenland a lucrative market for Danish gangs. 

Shipping and tourism 

A shipping CEO delivers a categorical rejection of the Northern Sea Route for global container trade. On the other hand, a sanctioned Russian LNG sailed north along the Norwegian coastline toward Murmansk instead of heading for China. 

We also looked into short-term rentals that generate enormous sums in Arctic Norway. 

Read all this and more at High North News. Lots of great stories are to come, including from Tromsø, so follow along! 

Best, Editor-in-Chief Trine Jonassen