U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed his name Thursday to a document that affirms the need for global action against climate change, adding further uncertainty to the direction of climate policy under the Trump administration. "We're going to work to make the right decision".
But in their opening remarks, foreign ministers from the world's eight circumpolar nations instead reaffirmed their commitment to keeping the world's geopolitical tensions out of the forum's work, which focuses on environmental issues and sustainable development.
Tillerson had to "put himself out on a limb" to agree to acknowledging Paris, since all the other Arctic states were already on board, said Heather Exner-Pirot, an Arctic expert who attended the summit with a press credential.
Canada, the USA and its six Arctic Council partners adopted the nine-page "Fairbanks Declaration 2017, " which noted that the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the global average.
Finland highlighted that the global community adopted a universal, legally binding climate agreement in Paris in 2015.
The White House has postponed meetings on climate change twice in recent months, and Tillerson gave no hint this week about whether the United States would continue to abide by the terms of the accord.
After the rally, the protesters marched behind a sign reading, "Welcome to the frontline of climate change", to the building where the Arctic Council welcoming celebration was being held.
"We are taking time to understand your concerns", Tillerson told the members of the council, which in addition to the U.S.is comprised of Canada, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Russian Federation.
"We're not going to rush to make a decision", he said. "The Arctic Council will continue to be an important platform as we deliberate on these issues".
"The intergovernmental agreement on enhancing worldwide Arctic scientific cooperation, signed today, will give a new impetus to cooperation between our countries' researchers".
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" In order to promote health and well-being in the Arctic we must balance environmental protection with economic stability,"said Canada's Bill Erasmus, worldwide chair for the Arctic Athabaskan Council, which has members in Canada and Alaska".
Groups representing the indigenous peoples of the circumpolar north, known as permanent participants on the Arctic Council, were almost universally unified on the need to address climate change.
It's expected the Finns will push for a Helsinki summit featuring USA president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Ticks and pests that once could not survive in these latitudes have multiplied, they say, and even relatively young adults recall much longer and deeper winter freezes in the past.
The Arctic Council meets once every two years, and Thursday's meeting marked the end of the United States' chairmanship of the group. The Fairbanks Declaration recognized the key accomplishments during the 2015-2017 U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council to advance Arctic Ocean safety, security, and stewardship and improve economic and living conditions.
The joint declaration adopted by the eight-nation Arctic Council simply noted "the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change and its implementation".
But, of course, it's a new era now, and under the Trump administration, Arctic-watchers have been waiting with bated breath to see if Tillerson would undermine efforts to address climate change. "This place is lovely, and this place is delicate, and what already is happening in the Arctic will affect the rest of the Earth".
In addition, the State Department under Tillerson issued - as directed - an approval for the Keystone XL pipeline, and Tillerson himself is an old oil man, coming to the position after decades at the helm of ExxonMobil.
Under the deal, signed by Washington under former president Barack Obama, more than 190 countries set themselves goals to minimize carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.
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