Cross-boundary cooperation on energy transition will strengthen Arctic communities
“Climate emission reduction through energy transition creates value for business and local communities in the north provided we do not export that value to the south. Cross-boundary cooperation is vital to make that possible”, says Marit Magelssen Vambheim, Director at Energi i Nord and one of the organisers of the workshop on Cross-Border Energy Collaboration at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden 26 August 2025.
Energi Nord is a collaboration between stakeholders in the energy sector in Northern Norway. Its aim is to contribute to energy transition and value creation in the north. The other two organizers were Business Oulu and The Arctic Six Extended Energy Task Force. Business Oulu aim is to create new jobs through sustainable business growth in the Oulu region in Finland. The Arctic Six Extended Energy Task Force is part of The Arctic Six, a collaboration between six universities in the Arctic region of Norway, Sweden and Finland. The Arctic Six Extended aims at collaboration with industry, public sector and the civil society within several fields, one of them is energy.
''The idea is that together we have a stronger voice, both in the Nordic countries and towards the European Union. The latter is led by the EU Task Force, but its work permeates all the task forces,'' says Tina Bringslimark, leader of the Energy Task Force and Head of R&D at Nord University in Norway.
A common history
Janne Hietaniemi, Key Account Director for Cleantech and Industry from Business Oulu thinks that the Nordic Arctic have a lot in common:
“Our societies are similar, and we share a common history. We also have common challenges. The Arctic nature is very sensitive. We share common challenges, such as land use conflicts, for example between energy infrastructure and reindeer herding. The challenges are also administrative. The administrative and political centres in all our countries are in the south. They do not always understand our circumstances in the north but tend to think that our role is to produce for the south.”
Marit Magelssen Vambheim agrees:
“This is why it is so important for us from the business sector to work together with researchers and politicians who live and breathe here in the north and who understands the conditions in the Arctic.”
Janne Hietaniemi notes that in public debate, the most pressing issue at the moment is the geopolitical situation, which threatens to overshadow the green transition. He considers this a flaw in thinking.
“We tend to focus on only one topic at a time. But solutions to both the geopolitical situation and climate change may come from the same direction. For example, domestic non-fossil energy is part of both national security and the green transition.”
The full article of this piece was originally published by the Arctic Six on 2 September 2025.
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The Arctic Six is a UArctic Regional Centre