Saqqummersitaq

According to the narratives transmitted through media and political discourse, climate change reduces the ice coverage in the Arctic and enhances shipping and other forms of maritime activities. Especially, expectations of an increasing level of transit shipping between Asian, especially Chinese, ports and ports in Europe and North America is dominant. Evidence, however, tells that the numbers of transit shipping through the Arctic Ocean are very limited, and dominated by European shipping companies. For Greenland, political expectations have also been high, since Greenland has been seen as "strategically" situated in relation to new shipping routes in the Arctic, But, again, the actual development has been moderate and not related to international transits but conditions in Greenland itself.

I Arktis findes store forekomster af attraktive ressourcer såsom fisk, vand, mineralske råstoffer og olie, som bliver lettere tilgængelige i takt med tiltagende klimaforandringer. Ressourcer, som mødes med en øget international efterspørgsel. Men skal det føre til bæredygtig udvikling, er der fortsat et behov for et styrket vidensgrundlag for at sikre informeret og strategisk planlægning.