The Arctic Council failed to release a joint declaration this week following objections from US representatives, who had issues with the mention of climate change science and the Paris Agreement.
This is the very first time in the organization's 23-year history that such a statement has not been published. Instead, a brief statement was published Tuesday, simply reaffirming the nations' commitment to "maintain peace, stability, and constructive cooperation in the Arctic".
Seven of the Council's eight member countries (Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland) displayed a unified front, expressing a desire to take a stronger stance against climate change. But the US stood alone.
US representatives refused to include any mention of the Paris Agreement or recent research on climate change in the declaration. It has been reported that the US disagreed with statements that climate change poses a major threat to the Arctic.
However, the other countries refused to "water down" comments on climate change, a Finnish delegate, Timo Koivurova, told the BBC. The result was a stalemate.
"A majority of us regarded climate change as a fundamental challenge facing the Arctic and acknowledged the urgent need to take mitigation and adaptation actions and to strengthen resilience," Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini, who chaired the talks, explained,Reutersd reports.