Credit: Beeld: Leon de Korte







Icy international relations are a risk for the North Pole

By Ties Keyzer, Olaf Geurts, | 8 April, 2022

The Dutch government is lobbying for business opportunities in the Arctic region, but at the same time is trying to work with scientists to protect the Arctic. The former goal appears to be much more achievable than the latter.

The Netherlands provides useful science and is thus allowed to have a say in international environmental measures, but it will be the Arctic states that vote on these policies. Due to growing economic and military interests, those countries are increasingly guided by self-interest. The more assertive the Netherlands becomes, the more diplomatic pressure it experiences.

The war in Ukraine is currently crippling international cooperation, at a time when it is needed more than ever because of climate change.

Read the full article on FTM (in Dutch). 

More investigations