Oakland, CA —

Who: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will join top government officials from Canada, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland in Greenland May 12 at the Seventh Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council. Earthjustice attorney Erika Rosenthal will be attending the meeting as a consultant to the Circumpolar Conservation Union.

What: Meeting of the Arctic Council, the multilateral body addressing crucial Arctic issues such as climate change, black carbon, oil exploration and drilling, and Arctic shipping. The Council will announce its transformation into a more formal intergovernmental organization that can act as a platform for binding regional agreements. The ministers are expected to sign the first formal pan-Arctic treaty (on cooperation on search and rescue).

Where: Nuuk, Greenland

Why: Adoption and signing of the Nuuk declaration, which will give the Council a formal role in formulating international Arctic policies, standards and agreements.

Background: Earthjustice experts have provided background papers on the following subjects relevant to matters the Council may consider:

• The Arctic Council and Black Carbon, provides background on black carbon, or soot, which is an important cause of Arctic warming and melting.
• The Arctic Council and Oil & Gas Development, provides background on oil development and the threat of oil spills.
• The Arctic Council and the Polar Code, provides guidance on shipping and access issues.

The Arctic Council Task Force report on climate change (SWIPA 2011 report SDM Exec Summary).

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone: Summary for Decision Makers.

For more information on the Arctic Council, visit their website at http://www.arctic-council.org.