Closer Arctic Research Cooperation With the Nordics Won’t Weaken U.S. Research Ties

Rapid climate change and rising geopolitical tensions in the High North make Arctic research cooperation more important than ever, according to Canada’s ambassador to Norway, Amy Baker.

"It has always been important to collaborate with other Arctic states on research and understanding our Arctic. It’s more important now because the situation is changing so dramatically," Baker tells High North News.

Earlier this year, Canada and Norway issued a joint statement on strengthening bilateral science and research collaboration in the Arctic. For Canada, the agreement reflects a broader development in which the Nordic countries are playing an increasingly important role in the its Arctic research agenda.

"Working with the Nordics and with Norway is fundamental to how we’re moving forward on research," she states.

A crucial partnership

At the same time, Baker emphasizes that closer ties with the Nordic region will not come at the expense of Canada's research relationship with the United States.

"I think two things can happen at the same time, and the United States is a very important research partner for us in a lot of ways, but particularly with regard to the Arctic."

Baker pointed to the NordForsk call on the sustainable development in the Arctic, which brought together Canada, USA and the Nordic countries.

"The results of that are coming out now and are extremely useful. So, there are ways and places where we all collaborate together," she says.

Consequences for  communities

Baker visited Bodø in connection with the Arctic Six gathering this week, hosted by Nord university on behalf of the alliance, in collaboration with the Embassy iof Canada.

The event brought together researchers and representatives from all Arctic Six universities and 17 Canadian universities. Its aim was to strengthen long-term cooperation on Arctic research, innovation and education.

"By bringing together researchers and institutions from Canada, Northern Norway, Sweden and Finland, we hope to find where there might still be gaps, where we can systematize more collaboration going forward to fill those gaps."

She highlighted two areas in particular: technological change and artificial intelligence in remote Arctic communities, as well as the energy challenges facing these regions.

"What's the impact of that on many of our rural and remote communities in the Arctic? And how do we work together to ensure that technology becomes a solution to some of the problems that our communities face?" Baker asks.

In the field of energy, she referred to a recently signed agreement between Polar Knowledge Canada and Nordic Energy Research. The agreement establishes a framework for developing a shared knowledge base on sustainable energy solutions in these areas.

Indigenous voices

According to Baker, the next challenge is turning broad research cooperation into practical action.

"The collaboration is there on an institutional level, and there are also efforts to engage in specific communities. The question now is how to ensure that our partnership has concrete positive impact on the resiliency of the communities and environment in the Arctic and High North?"

However, the ambassador was clear that future collaboration cannot be developed without involving Indigenous peoples and residents in the North.

"It is important to recognise that all our countries have Indigenous peoples and other residents living in these communities, and that they must be at the centre of all the work we do. Together, we can find new ways of doing this and ensure that Indigenous voices underpin all the activities we continue to carry out," she concludes.