For many, the Arctic seems so remote that it may as well be on the moon. But the United States is very much an Arctic nation, and the security implications of climate change effects on the region are significant.

A new report from the Center for a New American Security, and a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives this week, provide much-needed attention to this critical issue, particularly in light of the lead-up to the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Both the report, and testimonies by Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., USCG (Ret), U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic, and Mr. Andrew Holland,  Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate at the American Security Project, shed light on the importance of numerous emerging security challenges in the Arctic, including climate change. Details and links to both are listed below. 

New Report: Arctic 2015 and Beyond: A Strategy for U.S. Leadership in the High North (Center for New American Security.

Senior Fellow Elizabeth Rosenberg, Adjunct Senior Fellow Dr. David Titley, and Alexander Wiker, a post-graduate fellow at Pennsylvania State University Dickenson School of Law, lay out the challenges and opportunities that face the United States as it assumes the chair of the Arctic Council in April 2015. For the brief window of opportunity that the United States has to shape development of the Arctic in this role, a task made particularly pressing by changes induced by climate change, this policy brief recommends that the United States devote increased time, attention, money and leadership to the Arctic; build foundations for sustainable and responsible economic expansion; ensure safety and security of Arctic oceans and borders; develop greater cooperation with Russia on Arctic matters; and forge long-term partnerships and new coordinating mechanisms.

U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee Hearing: The United States as an Arctic Nation: Opportunities in the High North

Panel I
Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., USCG, Retired
U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic
U.S. Department of State
[full text of statement]

Panel II
Scott Borgerson, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Cargo Metrics Technologies
[This witness has not submitted written testimony]

Mr. Andrew Holland  
Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate
American Security Project
[full text of statement]