• An efficient and multilateral process for responding to environmental disasters is the Arctic’s most pressing need.
• The Arctic is unlikely to be a security flashpoint in the short term. State-to-state negotiations and multilateral institutions have effectively handled territorial claims thus far, and neither Russia nor the United States is looking for a new source of tension.

The report concludes:
“The environment and the management of natural resources are the most pressing security issues in the North. States are committed to addressing boundary and access issues through existing institutions, principally UNCLOS. Large-scale damage to the Arctic from transportation accidents, energy development, fishing, and pollutants from the South pose greater immediate threats than classic security issues. Existing emergency response systems and contingency plans are not up to the task.”

A follow-up conference to the report's launch was held on June 24 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC. Many leading policy-makers were in attendance, including US Senior Arctic Official, Julie Gourley and Ambassador David Balton.

For more information on the report and official press releases of the event, please visit the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Website, and the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College.