Ávarp á Hringborði norðurslóða
Reykjavík, 11. október 2019

Iceland´s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council

Mr. Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland

Your Excellency Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Former President of Iceland,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be with you here today at the constantly growing Seventh Arctic Circle Assembly. Former President Grimsson I must begin by congratulating you and your collaborators, on having yet again brought us such an impressive agenda, gathering world leading decision-makers, business leaders, scientists, experts and other stakeholders to collaborate on Arctic affairs.

We are witnessing unprecedented changes in the Arctic. Changes that are already having effects way beyond the region. The drastic and undisputed warming of the Arctic climate has direct effects on monsoons in Asia. Opening-up of shipping routes in the Arctic affects world trade, and regions and states where shipping is an important industry. Rising sea levels, resulting from melting of Arctic glaciers, are already having and will continue to have lasting, widespread impacts – and not only in the Arctic but also further away.

Moreover, search and rescue activities in the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean are extremely challenging. The opening of the Arctic sea routes and the ensuing growth in marine traffic demand that we increase cooperation with individual Arctic States on search and rescue capabilities. This is needed if we are to be able to respond quickly and effectively to environmental and marine accidents. In this respect, taking into account the geographic and strategic location of Iceland, we are looking into the possibility of establishing a search and rescue cluster, in cooperation with our partners.

As you all know, Iceland currently chairs the Arctic Council. Our chairmanship program, under the headings Together Towards a Sustainable Arctic, highlights four priority areas:
First the Arctic marine environment.
Secondly climate and green energy solutions.
Thirdly, prosperous and sustainable Arctic communities.
And finally, Iceland will continue to work for a stronger Arctic Council

In fact, our Chairmanship Program evolves around one thing - sustainable development.
This should perhaps not come as a surprise since sustainable use of natural resources has transformed Iceland from being one of the poorest countries in Europe into one of the most affluent states in the world, and that in only one century.

A century ago, brave Icelanders took the decision to start heating the households of Reykjavík using geothermal district heating. I said brave because that decision was a difficult and costly one for a poor country that had just regained its sovereignty after 650 years and had only one newly established university in the country.

This remarkable decision demonstrates the level of foresight and determination that our ancestors had. Thanks to these visionary politicians this step was taken. A step which has underpinned the well-being of our community ever since.

Since geothermal energy was also harnessed in Iceland during the Viking times it might be tempting for me boast a little and state that harnessing our national resources was in our DNA.

Unfortunately that is not our story - We have had to learn the hard way!

After gaining full control of our Exclusive Economic Zone in the mid-70´s we continued overfishing most of our stocks for a few years. Then we realized that drastic measures were necessary in order to avoid a permanent depletion of our stocks. This bitter experience turned out to be a blessing in disguise since it led to the abolition of almost all unrestricted fisheries, paving the way for our present fisheries management system which is based on responsible and sustainable fisheries.

Turning away from coals to geothermal energy and from Olympic fisheries to responsible resource management were, in my view, two of Iceland’s most important policy decisions in the last century. These “green” decisions paved the way for a modern and prosperous society. They were not only the right ones, but they were the only ones that could bring our country to the next level.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

We are still learning, but I can tell you that the introduction of the Blue BioEconomy concept in recent years, has had truly positive societal effects in Iceland. Through innovation and biotechnological solutions, we have learned that it is possible to increase significantly the utilization level of biomass brought ashore, which in turn leads to increased financial gains throughout the value chain. Some Icelandic companies have even manged to eliminate completely biomass-waste from living marine catches. Only a few years ago, this idea would have been thought of as revolutionary. Today, it is simply considered as smart.

Innovators and researchers in a small fishing town in the north of Iceland make a product out of a shrimp shells that fights inflammations in the body. This process started more than 20 years ago when a TV journalist filmed the polluted ocean underneath a fishing factory, filled with reddish shrimp shell waste that nobody made use of. Instead of scolding the journalist for the negative piece of news, the fisherman looked himself in the mirror. Today this product is sold overseas and has enabled highly educated people to return and find jobs in their old hometowns. Which they have done, in fact, some even returning from the big metropolises on the continent.

Another entrepreneur in a fishing town nearby Reykjavík produces collagen from fish. And just to explain and demonstrate, collagen is supposed to keep one young looking – and as you can clearly see … I take it every morning!

I would say that these examples represent sustainable development at its best and in Iceland, this approach laid the foundation for our thriving society and innovation sector. One can say that this idea, of using every gram of a cod or a shrimp represents a very back-to-basics way of thinking. And it is in fact a very modern way of thinking – that is to say that wastefulness is unacceptable.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is of little use to develop elaborate systems and utilize 100% of our catches if our oceans are not healthy. Estimates indicate that over 150 million tonnes of plastics have accumulated in the oceans since the 1950s and each year the equivalent of 525,000 truckloads of plastic enter our oceans. At the continued rate the amount of plastics in the oceans will surpass that of fish by 2050. Just imagine! For the longest time governments were somewhat indifferent towards this problem but fortunately, this is changing.

However, for our actions to achieve best results we must adjust and prioritize our responses based on the best available scientific knowledge. To that end the Icelandic government will host an International Symposium on plastics in the Arctic in April 2020. The Conference will bring together leading experts in the field, policy makers and leaders, offering its participants the most recent information available on the problem and focus on best practices and actions. And we of course hope to see all of you here in Harpa for that event next spring.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

We cannot close our eyes to the fact that the opening up of the Arctic and increased activity there have given rise to increased geopolitical tensions.

In that context I would like to emphasize that it is of paramount importance that international law and norms prevail in the Arctic region. A rule-based international system is always more likely to yield lasting outcomes than outdated and old-fashioned power play.

It has both been a privilege for Iceland to chair the Arctic Council but, I must admit, also somewhat of a challenge. However, when the going gets tough, I recall an advice from my mother when I was a young boy heading for school in blistering snowstorms in Borgarnes, my birthplace. She told me to zip up and muddle through because in the end the sun would always come out.

I wish all of you a fruitful Arctic Circle Assembly.