Sen. Lisa Murkowski is warning the Obama administration to not make climate change the “singular focus” of the United States’ role in the Arctic Council, a key regional group that the U.S. assumes leadership of next week.
“A focus on climate change … is absolutely warranted” under the U.S. chairmanship of the council, the Senate Energy and and Natural Resources Committee chairwoman and Alaska Republican said Friday morning. “But it cannot be our singular focus,” and should not become an “excuse” to limit development of natural resources such as oil and gas, she said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
The Arctic Council is the primary international group for addressing issues facing the Arctic. The council is made up of eight Arctic countries: the U.S., Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Canada. The group will meet April 24-25 for a ministerial meeting in Northern Canada, marking the conclusion of Canada’s chairmanship and the beginning of the United States’ two-year leadership.
Murkowski says the council cannot be used as a “bully pulpit” for addressing manmade global warming. She said the White House should have longer-term goals, since the chairmanship lasts only two years and in 2017 there will be a new administration with different priorities.
The Obama administration has a tendency to place “climate change goals above everything,” which cannot be the case when the U.S. assumes the chairmanship, she said. There are other areas of concern, such as the 4 million people who live in the region and their needs for energy and natural resources to support their families and livelihoods, she said.
Republicans have pushed for greater oil and natural gas development in the Arctic as the sea ice there is receding. China and other non-Arctic nations are pushing for more influence over the region as it becomes an increasingly important trade route as well as a source of natural resources.
Environmentalists, though, have opposed more drilling in the region, saying it would harm the region’s environment even more.
The Obama administration appears to be walking a tightrope. Recent actions suggest it is attempting to balance energy development with environmental concerns.
For example, the administration came under fire by environmentalists for recently approving a new lease sale for oil company Shell to begin offshore drilling in Alaska.
The administration also has proposed first-of-a-kind regulations for Arctic drilling. Industry says the new actions are encouraging, but the regulations rigorous due to their focus on environmental safeguards. The rules could take years to complete.
But President Obama also announced plans to prohibit drilling in 12 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which Murkowski has vowed to block.
