ABOUT THE ARCTIC COUNCIL

The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic. It was formally established in 1996. The Arctic Council is a forum; it has no programming budget. All projects or initiatives are sponsored by one or more Arctic States. Some projects also receive support from other entities. The Arctic Council does not and cannot implement or enforce its guidelines, assessments or recommendations. That responsibility belongs to each individual Arctic State. The Arctic Council’s mandate explicitly excludes military security. Iceland chairs the Arctic Council from 2019 to 2021, and the Russia Federation chairs from 2021 to 2023.

Arctic States

1. Canada
2. Denmark
3. Finland
4. Iceland
5. Norway
6. Russia
7. Sweden
8. USA

Permanent participants

Permanent Participants are organizations representing Arctic Indigenous peoples in the Council. They are supported by the Indigenous Peoples Secretariat.

1. Aleut International Association (AIA)
2. Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC)
3. Gwich’in Council International (GCI)
4. Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC)
5. Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON)
6. Saami Council

Working Groups

Research, monitoring and the other work of the Council is primarily carried out by Working Groups.

1. Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP)
2. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
3. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)
4. Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR)
5. Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME)
6. Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG)

Observers

Observer status in the Arctic Council is open to non-Arctic states, along with inter-governmental, inter-parliamentary, global, regional and non-governmental organizations that the Council determines can contribute to its work.

Non-Arctic States

1. France
2. Germany
3. Italy
4. Japan
5. Netherlands
6. China
7. Poland
8. India
9. Korea
10. Singapore
11. Spain
12. Switzerland
13. United Kingdom

Intergovernmental and Interparliamentary organizations

1. International Council for the exploration of the sea (ICES)
2. International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
3. International Maritime Organization (IMO)
4. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
5. Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM)
6. Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO)
7. North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)
8. OSPAR Commission
9. Standing Committee of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR)
10. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
11. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
12. World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Non-governmental Organizations

1. Advisory Committee on Protection of the Seas (ACOPS)
2. Arctic Institute of North America (AINA)
3. Association of World Reindeer Herders (AWRH)
4. Circumpolar Conservation Union (CCU)
5. International Artic Science Committee (IASC)
6. International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA)
7. International Union for Circumpolar Health (IUCH)
8. International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
9. Northern Forum (NF)
10. Oceana
11. University of the Arctic (UARCTIC)
12. World Wide Fund for Nature Arctic Programme (WWF)

Other subsidary bodies

The Council may also establish Task Forces or Expert Groups to carry out specific work.

Arctic Council accomplishments

The Arctic Council regularly produces comprehensive, cutting-edge environmental, ecological and social assessments through its Working Groups. The Council has also provided a forum for the negotiation of three important legally binding agreements among the eight Arctic States:

1. Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic (2011)
2. Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic (2013)
3. Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation (2017)

Note

 The Arctic Council should continue its efforts to identify opportunities to reduce emissions of short-lived climate forcers such as black carbon and methane. Progress in this area could help slow the current pace of change in the Arctic while work is underway to reduce longer-term impacts. Black carbon is currently considered one of the most important anthropogenic climate drivers after CO2. In the Arctic its influence may be even stronger than elsewhere. Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the coming years can limit the extent of Arctic climate change, especially after mid-century, but the Arctic of the future will certainly be very different regardless of the emissions scenario. Arctic glaciers, ice caps, and the Greenland Ice Sheet would continue to melt even under ambitious emissions reductions, contributing significantly to long-term sea level rise.