Tillerson arrives in Alaska for Arctic meeting

Tillerson spoke Thursday in Fairbanks, Alaska, at a meeting of the Arctic Council, made up of the eight Arctic nations and indigenous groups.

The Arctic agreement Tillerson signed with foreign ministers from the other seven nations of the council, including Russia, Canada and Norway, made only a passing reference to the Paris pact.

Donald Trump pledged to renegotiate the accord during last year's US election campaign, but has wavered on the issue since taking office.

The rally was organized by a local group "Defend the Sacred", which is urging Tillerson to support climate change research and the Paris Agreement.

His administration has aggressively begun trying to dismantle numerous climate policies created under the Obama administration, including federal rules to phase out coal-fired power plants, increase restrictions on vehicle emissions and limit methane leaks from natural gas production. "But my own feeling is that US interests in the Arctic are long-term and enduring, and they have a lot to do with the state of Alaska, and that's not changing".

The Fairbanks Declaration does not affirm that the US will honor the Paris accord. "We call on Finland, the next chair country of the Arctic Council, to draw up specific proposals taking into consideration the views of all the Council member states".

But he says the US will not rush to make a decision on climate change policy. "We're going to work to make the right decision for the United States".

A video showed at the meeting before his remarks that was produced by the State Department referred to "ecological change", not climate change.

While Tillerson's comments were vague - the phrase "the issue of climate change" falls short of saying climate change is real - few of his counterparts at the meeting minced words.

Two broad frameworks, Soini said, should be taken into account in all Arctic Council activities: Climate change, especially the Paris Climate Agreement, and sustainable development goals that the United Nations adopted two years ago. The document noted the importance of reducing soot and methane emissions and said climate change is the most serious threat to Arctic biodiversity.

Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom of Sweden mused, "I wonder about what the planet would say if she had a seat at the table". "They won't know how to properly harvest these animals and how to take care of them so I think that is being threatened", Kenrud said.

The ministerial meeting in Fairbanks marked the end of US chairmanship of the Arctic Council and the transfer of the two-year rotating chairmanship to Finland. Besides, the Council also comprises the organizations of the Arctic indigenous peoples, including the Arctic Athabascan Council, Aleut International Association, Gwich'in Council International, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the Saami Council. The council also includes six indigenous groups and formal observers from non-Arctic countries. However, Lavrov lamented the suspension of high-level military talks between defence officials of the Arctic states. Those concerns have increased amid new tensions between Russian Federation and the United States.

The Arctic Council, he said, will continue to be an important platform as the Trump administration deliberates. "That has remained a very cooperative body".

One of the council's last official acts before the chairmanship is handed to Finland will be issuing the Fairbanks Declaration, which in part will outline the focus of upcoming work by the Arctic Council during the next two years. Scientists reported this week that it is warming so rapidly that it now is emitting more carbon than it captures.