Aspen Commission on Arctic Climate Change

The Aspen Institute, in partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, has convened in the Principality on April 17 and 18 its Commission on Arctic Climate Change to develop a shared set of first principles to guide policy direction on environmental governance for the Arctic region.

The profound consequences of climate change in the Arctic are of interest and concern to Arctic and non-Arctic nations alike. Yet there has been lagging agreement about the common interests and subsequent joint responsibilities for managing and adapting to the changes that will occur in the Arctic over the next several decades. The mission of the Aspen Commission is to spark a more serious discussion, and to offer innovative approaches, towards of a shared responsibility for the circumpolar Arctic.

The purpose of the Monaco meeting was to discuss and provide direction on a set of policy recommendations regarding Arctic governance. A working group to the Commission has met three times over the last year, and the initial recommendations of this working group were presented and used as a starting point for the deliberations of the Commission in Monaco.

These deliberations were held in presence of H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, who has accepted, since 2007, to participate to the action that the Aspen Institute conducts for the protection of the Arctic.
 This work was conducted in presence of H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, who agreed since 2007 to take part in the action carried out by the Aspen Institute for the protection of the Arctic.

Let us recall that one of the spheres of activities of the Prince Albert II de Monaco Foundation is climate change and one of its priority areas is the Polar Regions. It supports the emergence of places of debates with the actors of the environment of the polar zones (researchers, project management, companies, and institutions). Members of the Foundation’s Scientific and Technical Committee take part regularly in the various meetings of the Aspen commission.