Looking North: Northern England and the National Imagination (Studies in Popular Culture)

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The UK will continue to work closely with the US Administration to build on the successes of our COP26 Presidency. We will continue to monitor and assist, as appropriate, in the further development of plans for SAR in the region. The UK will continue to support its partners and Allies, through both bilateral partnerships and multilateral fora to ensure the peace and stability of the region.

The UK also welcomed their decision in June 2022 to implement a limited resumption in their work in the Arctic Council, in projects that do not involve the participation of the Russian Federation. Between January and November 2021, 70% of the UK’s seafood imports came from countries within the Arctic region.The links between the UK and the Arctic are not limited to our climate systems and marine environment. The UK played a leading role in the development and agreement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD) in December 2022. The UK has continued to work with other countries to deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact and drive further action.

Transit through the Arctic region could reduce travel time between Asia and northern Europe by 10-12 days. The five Nordic Arctic states comprise half of the ten members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force ( JEF). The UK has consistently been at the forefront of international regulatory developments that aim to protect the Ocean and we will continue to do so. The UK shares many interests with other non-Arctic States, including other State Observers to the Arctic Council.The British Antarctic Survey was also one of the initiators of Polar View, the international consortium which provides a variety of earth observation products. This new policy framework sets out our enduring interest in the region, and our commitment to working with our Arctic partners and Allies to share experience and expertise for the benefit of all.

As the 2021 Integrated Review makes clear, the UK will contribute to maintaining the Arctic as a region of high co-operation and low tension. The framework reiterates that the UK will remain an active, influential and reliable partner in the Arctic. It was granted Observer status at the Arctic Council in 2013 and published its first Arctic Policy in 2018. To do so, UKHO maintains strong links with Arctic nations to ensure access to the best available data to serve the needs of the international mariner.Aside from the dramatic environmental consequences of melting ice, there will also be economic implications. The UK has committed to improve the situation through domestic and international action, both of which will contribute to protecting the Arctic. In a changing environment, retreating sea ice, melting glaciers and warming permafrost can release chemicals and microplastics that had previously been trapped. Limited exceptions exist for subsistence products from traditional hunts conducted by Indigenous communities and items for travellers’ personal use. This is underpinned by a 10-year plan for Royal Marines training and exercising in the region (Project Heimdall).