Ræða á Arctic Energy Summit á Akureyri, 8. október 2013

Mr.  Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland
Ambassadors
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to be here with you today and give you some reflections on Arctic Energy issues.

The awareness and importance of the Arctic region in international affairs has increased considerably in recent years on account of a debate about climate change and new shipping routes, natural resources and continental shelf claims. Moreover the Arctic is becoming increasingly important in its strategic, security and economic dimensions.

The Arctic ecosystem is fragile and utilisation of it‘s natural resources is subject to various political, economic, environmental and social conditions. The area holds huge potential natural resources ranging from minerals, hydrocarbons and marine life for food production. For example it has been estimated that the Arctic region holds approximately 30% of the world's unexploited gas and 13% of oil.

Utilisation of resources and environmental changes in the Arctic region will clearly have a major impact on economic and social conditions of the inhabitants in the area.

Iceland is an Arctic state - a member of the Arctic Council. It goes without saying that Arctic issues are of great importance for Iceland and we are heavily dependant on the resources of the Arctic region in all our main industries: fisheries, tourism and energy.

The Icelandic Parliament unanimously adopted an Arctic policy in the last term which states our vision towards the Arctic. This includes:

• That Iceland supports the Arctic Council as the main collaborative Forum in Arctic matters,
• Secondly, that Iceland wants to secure its position as an Arctic Costal State and that we want to build on the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea for resolving disputes,
• Thirdly, to strengthen collaboration with our closest neighbours in the Arctic (Greenland and the Faroe Islands) and to secure rights of indigenous peoples living  in the High North and preserve their unique culture.
• And finally, we want to prevent, as far as possible, human-induced climate change and ensure that increased economic activity will contribute to sustainable utilisation of resources and preserve the fragile ecosystem.

The Arctic Council, with its eight member states, is the most important forum for international co-operation on Arctic issues and plays a key role. Since the Council was founded in 1996 it has evolved in a very positive way from being a discussion forum towards becoming a regional, treaty based organization. As clearly stated in the aforementioned arctic policy, Iceland is among the countries that want to increase the Arctic Council‘s weight and relevance in decisions on the region, where necessary.

The importance and value of the Arctic Council is evident when measured by the interest of countries seeking membership or observer status.  Six countries were granted observer status earlier this year, including China.  Iceland supported this and I believe that this will only strengthen the Arctic Council as a governing body in the region.

Currently, all parties subscribe to the overarching framework of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (althought the U.S. have not ratified it yet).  And, despite some relatively minor territorial and definitional disputes, bilateral and multilateral negotiations have been extremely cooperative.

We should place trust in the work of the Arctic Council in addressing the various challenges of the Arctic. And we should, as much as possible, take active part in the various work which is currently being undertaken by the Arctic Council.

In this respect I would specifically like to mention the Oil Spill Agreement, which was signed at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna in May this year. This is an important Agreement which underpins the role of the Arctic Council in safeguarding environmental and civil security in the region, in terms of utilisation of hydrocarbons in the Arctic.

Another important agreement is the 2011 Nuuk Agreement on Search & Rescues which was the first legally binding agreement made under the auspices of the Arctic Council.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Iceland does have unique strengths which we want to bring to the Arctic table. I would like to mention renewable energy, both geothermal and hydro, where Iceland can provide knowledge and long experience in the utilisation of our energy sources. Sustainable fisheries and fish-processing are also areas where we have gained significant experience and success in past decades.  Here we can contribute. Also in infrastructure, transportation and information technology and then of course with the location of Iceland as an ideal service center for many future Arctic co-operative endeavours...such as this Summit here in Akureyri.

In this field, as in others, we, the Arctic countries, can certainly learn from each other and build on each others strenght and experience in tackling the tasks of tomorrow.

Ladies and gentlement,
Speaking as the Minister of Industry and Energy I would like to mention the potentials and challenges within the field of hydrocarbons in the Arctic region and how we can address that issue in a responsible manner.
I hope and believe that in Iceland we will in the coming years witness the birth of a new industry which could turn out to have a major impact on future generations. This is the oil and gas industry, and the related service  industry.

As Iceland is now embarking upon exploration of oil and gas on the Jan-Mayen Ridge Area, north-east of the country, co-operation on various issues with our Arctic neighbours (for example in the field of preventing oil pollution) becomes of paramount importance for us in the years to come. The signing of the aforementioned Kiruna Oil Spill Agreement was an important milestone. This area, the „Dreki Area“, is a frontier area with many challenges but also great potentials.

The Icelandic Government has stated that it will encourage the utilisation of potential oil and gas resources as soon as practicable, should these be discovered in sufficient quantity to make extraction feasible. To this end the Government will undertake preparatory work in connection with transport, accident prevention and rescue work, environmental protection, infrastructure, co-operation with neighbouring countries and regulatory issues.

The Government will also establish a state oil company which will have the purpose of administering licenses for oil and gas production and to lay the basis for ensuring that potential benefit from such production is utilised by society as a whole and on a long-term basis.

This year we have issued two licenses for exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the “Dreki Area” and the third is in process. Various investment opportunities are arising through this new sector.

In addition to this I see a growing role for Iceland in servicing what we can call the "Energy Triangle"; which is the Icelandic area south of Jan Mayen, the Norwegian part of it and the oil exploration areas off the East coast of Greenland.

Nevertheless it is important to have both feet firmly on the ground and approach these issues of the future in a sensible and responsible manner, and that is what we will do.
In this regard we of course need to have close co-operation with our Arctic neighbours.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The Arctic is one of the last frontiers of unspoiled land on the planet.  Excercising caution in the Arctic is not to be questioned. Past history shows that unconstrained access to natural resources can lead to overexploitation and environmental disasters.

The Arctic is, and has always been in many ways a friendly place. However, even if most analysts and governments agree that the Arctic is currently a low-tension area, there are some concerns and we have to keep our eyes open towards changes in that respect. In order to maintain a low tension environment, we must ensure that military activities - often justified on a national security basis – do not appear provocative to any Arctic state.  

Thea im is…..to quote the former Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Störe...High North – Low tension.

And it should continue to be so. That was the vision of Vilhjálmur Stefánsson, the arctic explorer who was born in 1879 and after whom we named our Arctic Institution here in Akureyri. One of his objectives was to change the ideas prevailing through the centuries about the hostile Arctic and draw attention to the fact that it is the home to people and that it has hosted it‘s own culture for centuries.

The Arctic can be a very friendly and rewarding place, especially if we are friendly to it. This we should always keep in mind.

Thank you !