Common opportunities and challenges in the High North

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Your Majesty, dear colleague, dear friends,

I greatly appreciate this opportunity to address the common opportunities and challenges in the High North here in Helsinki. Because Norway and Finland have so much in common – in so many areas – and we have so much opportunity to pursue these shared interests together.

Back in the 1990s, Finland initiated the Northern Dimension of the European Union – in the typically Finnish way: a solid, step-by-step, pragmatic and dedicated effort. Now Norway, Russia and Iceland, have been included in the Northern Dimension cooperation.

It is therefore a great pleasure for me to address such a distinguished audience, together with my colleague Ilkka, on the High North here in “Smolna”, the Government Banqueting Hall.

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The High North is today attracting growing interest from far beyond our region. But to most Europeans, the High North is still largely unknown.

During my years as a student in Paris, I was struck by how the maps used in TV weather reports cut Europe off at the 60th parallel. Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo were all included. But to reach the High North you need to travel much further north – at least to the 70th parallel.

Up there – many Finns and Norwegians feel at home. But a German professor, when shown our map of the northernmost parts of Europe, had to confess that he had always considered Schleswig-Holstein to be the high north!

This is indeed another example of the old truth that where you stand depends on where you sit.

I sit in Norway and the Government that I represent has made the High North a strategic priority in its foreign and domestic policy.

In geographical terms, we define the High North as the sea and land area – including islands and archipelagos – stretching northwards from the southern boundary of Nordland county and eastwards from the Greenland Sea to the Barents Sea and the Pechora Sea.

In political terms it covers the parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia that are included in the Barents region.

I will take this opportunity to elaborate on the main drivers behind the Norwegian High North Strategy – and to put it briefly – these drivers are the following: energy, climate change and relations with Russia.

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But first the obvious. The main focus is, of course, people: people’s ability to develop national resources; people’s ability to develop their local communities, improve their quality of life and access to high quality education, stimulating work and a rich cultural life. And in addition, there is the overriding objective of securing peace and stability in a region that previously was a centre of potential confrontation between east and west.

In this context the bilateral Norwegian-Finnish dimension stands out as an important dimension – with great potential.

I have read what the Finnish Government’s programme says about cooperation in the North. I fully agree with its emphasis on stability, on solving practical problems for people in their everyday lives, and on closer cooperation between the Nordic countries and with Russia. These are issues where Norway and Finland see eye-to-eye – and where we have much to further develop.

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Friends,

Of the three main drivers attracting international attention to the High North – the first is global climate change.

Imagine, a few years ago this would not have figured as a top priority. But now scientists are supporting what we are seeing with our own eyes: the polar ice cap is receding faster than expected; temperatures in the High North are rising twice as fast as elsewhere on the planet.

This is a clarion call for the people living close to the receding ice. But make no mistake – it is above all a clarion call for the rest of the world, because the most dramatic effects will unfold further south. Al Gore – in his Inconvenient Truth – draws a direct link from receding ice at the poles and on Greenland to the desertification of Africa. To the disappearance of lake Chad. To the floods in Asia.

The message is clear: globally we are in the same boat, but the passengers will be affected differently, and we – here in the north – seem yet again to be travelling first class. That puts a special responsibility on our shoulders.

Five years ago, scientists forecast open waters across the North Pole by 2100. Today they have adjusted their forecast to around 2040 – some 30 years ahead. This in itself could revolutionise transportation routes to Asia.

All of this underlines the importance of intensifying research on climate change in the High North, and this is one of the main themes in the ongoing International Polar Year – and a priority in the current Norwegian presidency of the Arctic Council.

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Then to the second driver – which is energy.

Oil and natural gas are already produced in the Barents Sea and the Pechora Sea. In a world where energy supply and energy security are becoming important foreign and security policy issues, it is not surprising to see growing interest in the High North as an emerging energy province.

Indeed – in political terms – energy is the driver that has paved the way towards a new perception of the High North. In a comparative perspective, energy has replaced strategic nuclear deterrence as the main source of interest in this region.

Some of this interest is due to the calculation by the US Geological Survey that as much as a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas resources may be located in the Arctic. Although these estimates concern the entire circumpolar Arctic, I am convinced that the petroleum industry will have a great impact in North Norway, northwestern Russia and beyond – also in Finland.

Thus, the strategic importance of the High North will increase. There will be new business opportunities for all of us.

And we are not talking about the distant future. In September, the transport of liquefied natural gas from the Norwegian Snøhvit field to the US will create another strategic transatlantic link. Then there are the large discoveries on the Russian side – not only the giant Stockman field, but also others.

There are plans on the drawing board for an eastern Arctic pipeline from the southern coast of the Barents Sea to the Baltic Sea. The idea of a western Arctic pipeline from the Barents Sea to the existing network of pipelines in the North Sea is also being discussed.

We don’t know if either or both of them will be built. But the point here is that they are not just fantasies; they are real possibilities. And they underline the need and potential for further practical cooperation with Russia in the petroleum sector.

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Then you may ask, isn’t there a dilemma here? How can Norway increase its energy production, which involves greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time contribute to global climate security? And why should we try to do so?

On the one hand, we seek to produce more of the fossil fuels that the world needs. On the other hand, we seek to be among the most advanced and committed countries when it comes to reducing the environmental impacts of energy production and use.

Norway’s aim is clear: the production and use of Norwegian oil and gas will lead to lower emissions in comparison with the production and use of energy from other suppliers.

Our vision is to move towards decarbonisation through CO2 capture and storage that enables continued use of fossil fuels without damage to the atmosphere.

The point is that Norway’s dilemma is also the world’s dilemma. And we therefore need to tailor our approach in such a way that it forms a constructive part of the world’s approach.

Then again the High North will always be important to Norway because we are the steward of large sea areas that include some of the richest fishing grounds on earth.

This means that we need to manage these living marine resources in a sustainable way. Norwegian resource management combines the active use of regulatory authority with the credible enforcement of legislation and international cooperation.

The same goes for petroleum. Oil and gas production in the cold waters of the Barents Sea poses huge environmental and safety challenges. We take a systematic and methodical approach to opening new areas for petroleum activities and awarding exploration and production licences on the basis of clear rules.

We have created conditions that are conducive to long-term, large-scale investment, while at the same time maintaining full transparency and firm control of processes, and facilitating coexistence between very different users of these sea areas.

We are advocating ambitious environmental goals, and we are seeking to promote the establishment of high health, safety and environmental standards for petroleum activities in the whole of the Barents Sea. Russia has welcomed this ambition. It is indeed an ambition that we share.

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Dear friends,

I have mentioned two main drivers behind the increased awareness of the importance of the High North.

Then there is a third one: our common neighbour. And I am not thinking of Sweden.

Developments in Russia are an important factor in our High North policy and, indeed, in both Norwegian and Finnish foreign policy. Russia forms a central bilateral dimension of Norway’s High North policy.

All of us who are involved in developing relations with Russia are well aware that we are dealing with change – profound change – much that is for the better, but also quite a lot that is taking less a desirable direction.

Compared with the more chaotic 1990s – which none of us wish to return to – we are facing a stronger Russia that is richer and more self-assertive, a Russia trying to find its place in the international arena. Russian democracy is still developing and we cannot see clearly where that journey will end.

As neighbours we follow developments closely – as you do. And we know that as neighbours we are bound to deal with each other and we have every interest in seeing Russia more integrated, more engaged and – may I say – more normal to deal with as a neighbour and as a partner. In a situation where we have common ground and where we may have different views.

We will maintain a candid dialogue with Russia and we will make our views clear. Our policy will continue to be based on pragmatism, interests and cooperation.

I have noted what the Finnish Government has set out in its programme on strengthening Finnish knowledge and expertise on Russia. We have a lot to learn from each other. The cooperation that already exists between research institutions in our two countries on issues related to Russia is very positive and should continue. And so should closer and more in-depth consultations between our Governments.

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A central point in our High North strategy is that we will exercise our authority in the High North in a credible, consistent and predictable way. We take our international and national obligations seriously. Norway has jurisdiction over waters six times the size of mainland Norway.

The presence of our armed forces, police and prosecuting authority continues to be of great importance. We believe that the close cooperation between these services helps to prevent conflict and maintain predictability and stability. I am confident that this is in the interest of all countries in the region, including Finland.

The cold war is history. The prime security challenges in the High North are now related to civilian issues: economic cooperation, resource management, resource surveillance and transport.

We both have strategies to deal with the hard security issues. But let us agree – most of the modern challenges we now have to deal with are soft security issues. They require broad political engagement and imagination. They require collaboration.

That is what we are experiencing in new rounds of talks between ministers and officials from Norway, Finland and Sweden. There is a lot more we can do together.

Again let us agree - history always plays a role in defining our current perspectives. But we are not only dealing with the past – we are also preparing the way ahead that will shape the future, and thus form part of what will be history for our children and grandchildren.

We note that Norwegian and Finnish views and analyses are converging – and this we welcome. We share a realistic and pragmatic attitude towards the challenges and opportunities in the High North. We draw every necessary lesson from history, but at the same time we no longer see relations with Russia through cold war glasses.

Our common future is triggering us to develop closer cooperation on a wide range of issues, from trade and economic development, through health and environment, to details relating to border crossing and cross-border cooperation, all the way to security and – let me not forget – nuclear security, as we continue international efforts to help Russia clean up the disastrous legacies of nuclear waste.

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Dear friends,

Norway’s perspective on the High North is a result of geography and history – as is Finland’s perspective. Some of aspects of these perspectives we have in common, and some may vary.

We have a real potential for broader and deeper cooperation – between business interests as well as between local and regional governments across the Norwegian-Finnish border and indeed between our central governments and government ministers and the vibrant civil societies from which our democracies draw their strength.