Senator Mark Begich on Arctic Climate Change

June 9, 2009 -- With Alaska at "ground-zero" in experiencing the impacts of global climate change, Senator Mark Begich today proposed five major policy initiatives to better help the 49th state and America adapt to what he called the "Second Arctic Century."

Building on the 100-year anniversary of the "discovery" of the North Pole, Begich called for ratification of two international treaties affecting the Arctic; creation of a Regional Citizens Advisory Council for the Arctic; appointment of an Arctic ambassador to advocate for American interests in the region; more funding for and better coordination of Arctic science; and a significant new investment in the infrastructure needed for a permanent American presence in the Arctic, including new ice-breakers and Coast Guard facilities.

Begich joined NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen, Rear Admiral David Titley and other experts in addressing the "3rd Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval & Maritime Operations" at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.

"Arctic sea ice is melting so fast most of it could be gone in 30 years," Begich said in his first comprehensive speech on Arctic climate change since taking office. "The implications of the loss of that sea pack are enormous: for species such as polar bears and walrus that depend on ice for their survival. To the residents of the Arctic who depend on marine mammals to satisfy their nutritional and cultural needs, to entire communities which are being undercut by erosion and thawing permafrost."

Begich called for ratification of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, negotiated in 1982 to settle long-standing disputes over national rights to offshore waters and resources. The U.S. is among a handful of nations - including Libya, Iran and North Korea - that have not ratified the agreement.

"By failing to ratify this important treaty, we deny ourselves a seat at the table at a time of great change in the Arctic," Begich said. "While other nations have filed claims for Arctic continental shelf areas beyond their 200-mile limit, the United States lacks standing to claim such submerged lands and resources, including substantial oil and gas."
He also called for ratification of the Treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants, adopted by the U.S. in 2001 but never ratified. POPs, like other poisons, tend to accumulate in the Arctic where they are carried by wind and sea currents and then trapped in the ice and in the fatty tissue of marine mammals which are a main-stay of the diet of Arctic people.

To give residents of the Arctic more say in development which directly affects them, Begich called for creation of a Regional Citizens Advisory Council (RCAC). Modeled after groups created in the aftermath of the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, the Arctic RCAC would ensure that local communities have a voice in development of decisions affecting their lives and should be a pro-active way to ensure development occurs in a responsible manner.

To better coordinate the multitude of issues and organizations involved with the Arctic, Begich called for the appointment of an Arctic ambassador.

"When I became a senator and started working on this issue at the national level, I asked for a flow chart of who was doing what in the Arctic. There are more acronyms connected to Arctic than my 6-year-old son can produce in his alphabet soup," he said. "I believe the United States needs equal standing with other nations which are represented by ambassador-level diplomats. In addition to a thorough understanding of Arctic issues and the science of climate change, our Arctic ambassador needs the stature to exercise leadership and vision in Arctic policy."

Begich, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, also called for more funding for Arctic science, particularly to research the impacts of climate change and diminishing ice on the residents of the region.

"Every research season it seems the Arctic is crisscrossed with researchers working independently on projects, each producing good science. But too often they are not coordinating their field work and not integrating their findings into an ecosystem context," he said. "We need a coordinated and integrated research and monitoring plan. It should start from baseline observations and include better science supporting Arctic-specific oil spill prevention and response methods. This plan must include traditional knowledge. After all, some of the first and accurate predictions of Arctic climate change were from Native elders."

Finally, Begich called for more investment in the infrastructure necessary to maintain the U.S. permanent presence in the Arctic. Critical to that is replacement of America's aging ice-breakers, ensure that new Virginia class submarines are fully Arctic capable and new Coast Guard facilities from which to base aerial surveillance and emergency response capabilities.

Begich said America finds itself at the beginning of the Second Arctic Century, which requires the nation "to address the broader policy implications of an ice-diminishing Arctic on the diplomatic, scientific and national security fronts. We must make the needed investments to ensure the United States maintains its leadership at the top of our globe. And we must listen to and address the needs of the residents of the Arctic."

Source: Senator Mark Begich