Arctic region key to realizing UN’s Agenda 2030

The Arctic Institute suggests in a new report that a partnership between Russia and the US in the field of Sustainable Development Goals in the Arctic is key to achieving sustainability goals laid out by the UN.

The following goals are most relevant to realizing Agenda 2030 in the Arctic, representing a consistent ecological block within the framework of sustainable development:

• 13: combating climate change
• 14: conservation of marine ecosystems
• 15: protection of terrestrial ecosystems

Potential environmental impact

The US and Russia both have practical interests in the region, but more important is the reality that the disintegration of the Arctic’s ecology will have ramifications for the entire world, including rising sea levels, viruses released from the permafrost and marine ecosystem destruction. Protecting the Arctic is key to the future of the entire planet. The region is warming twice as fast as the global average, ice and snow are melting, ecosystems are transforming and indigenous and local cultures are struggling to adapt to the new conditions.

Any cooperation in the Arctic therefore has the potential to make a major impact in the future.