Arctic Council: Nuuk Ministerial Meeting

The Nuuk Declaration and an agreement to cooperate in Search and Rescue efforts in the Arctic were signed on 12 May in Nuuk (Greenland) during the 7^th Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council. The Search and Rescue (SAR) agreement will strengthen cooperation between the Arctic states and improve the way Arctic countries respond to emergency calls in the region. The SAR agreement is ground-breaking for the Arctic Council as it is the first legally-binding agreement negotiated under the auspices of the Council, since its creation in 1996, and includes a commitment to create international protocols to prevent and clean up offshore oil spills as the Arctic becomes increasingly accessible to exploration due to climate change’s effects on ice cover.

 Press Release http://arctic-council.org/article/2011/5/arctic_council_ministers_sign_agreement.