In an effort to assert its sovereignty in the resource-rich Arctic, Canada plans to make a claim to the North Pole.
The Canadian government has asked
scientists to work on a future submission to the United Nations claiming that
the outer limits of the country's continental shelf include the pole, which so
far has been claimed by no one.
Currently, under international law,
Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the U.S. —the five countries with
territories near the Arctic Circle are allotted 200 nautical miles from their
northern coasts.
Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of
the Sea, exclusive claims can be vastly expanded for Arctic nations that prove
that their part of the continental shelf extends beyond that zone.
Canada's submission set out the potential
outer limits of the country's continental shelf in the Atlantic — a claim of
about 1.2 million square kilometers. The
countries follow up submission would extend Canada's claim 200 nautical miles
beyond the North Pole. These submissions
would give Canada control of the regions natural resources, which, according to
the U.S. Geological Survey contains 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural
gas and 15 percent of oil.
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The U.S never signed the law of the sea convention (^ Roger Rufe, President of the Ocean Conservancy. Statement before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, October 21, 2003). Given the VERY vast oil, gas and mineral resources in the Arctic, ownership, unfettered transit and military passage are likely to be contentious issues for decades to come (an oil war in the Arctic?).
ReplyDeleteThe northwest and northeast (north of the USSR) passages are open every summer now for at least a month. Read "Cold Front" by David Fairhall. Tourist cruise boats are becoming more common and some even visit the north pole. Most scientists agree that the Arctic will be almost ice free during late summer within a few decades, which is bad news for Santa and his elves.
The carbon is already in the air, the seas are warmer and the melting will continue for over a century, no matter what we do now. You can't re-freeze the Arctic nor cool the oceans.