Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday the Trump administration was in no rush to determine how to approach the issue of climate change, but would "make the right decision for the United States". The document does not bind the U.S.to taking any action on curbing carbon emissions.
Tillerson signed the pledge, called the Fairbanks Declaration, Wednesday night during the 10th meeting of the Arctic Council, a network of eight nations with territory in the region, including Russia, Canada and the Nordic countries.
"We are appreciative that each of you has an important point of view, and you should know that we are taking the time to understand your concerns", he said. However, he said that Washington will take its time to make the right decision on the issue.
The Arctic Council should set forth a plan for all the nations to be involved on various issues like charting the seas and migration of fish, Alaska's Congressman Don Young told Sputnik.
The U.S. objected to "how strong the language" was around climate change, United Nations sustainability goals and renewable energy in an earlier draft, said Rene Soderman, senior adviser for Arctic cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. Finland will now assume the chair.
Arctic Council foreign ministers, (L-R) Iceland's Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, Anders Samuelson of Denmark, Sweden's Margot Wallstrom, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Norway's Borge Brende, Finland's Timo Soini, Canada's Christina Freeland and chief US delegate Judy Garber pose for a family photo in Fairbanks, Alaska, on May 11, 2017.
Environmental groups praised the inclusion of best practices to reduce carbon emissions, but took issue with the single mention of the Paris climate accord, an global agreement to begin reducing carbon emissions in 2020.
Tillerson's signature took some State Department officials aback because he's yet to give any indication as to whether the us will stay in the Paris pact, Reuters news agency reported, citing an anonymous source at the department. The document specifically urges the ratifying bodies to "note with concern the widespread impact of climate change on the Arctic" and calls for the implementation of the Paris climate agreement.
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"Climate change has been an ongoing topic of interest for the Arctic Council for many chairmanships going back in time, and I foresee that it will continue to be one of the things the Arctic Council focuses on over the next few chairmanships", Balton said.
But despite the united front, delegates were left hanging when it came to US climate policy. "I am very confident there will be no change in that regard".
Trump himself has called the phenomenon a "hoax", and vowed on the campaign trail to pull the US out of the Paris agreement.
Balton explained earlier that there have been times in the past when scientists have struggled to get permission to cross global boundaries within the Arctic while conducting research.
"I think we really need to speak to people like Tillerson to say that this is the kind of action that's needed", Chapin said.
The U.S. - Russian Federation initiative will make it easier to move equipment, samples and data across borders in the North and facilitate scientific collaboration and sharing.
The Trump Administration has already reversed Obama-era bans on offshore drilling in certain parts of the Arctic, a turn that could intensify competition for resources in the region with major oil producer Russian Federation.
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