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the Arctic. It also appreciates the fact that the first legally binding agreement negotiated
under the auspices of the Arctic Council, the Agreement on Cooperation in Aeronautical
and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic, has come into force.
The Declaration also contains issues concerning acting on climate change. It
confirms the commitment of all Arctic states to work together and with other
countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
of 1992. It urges all parties to the Convention to continue to take urgent action to
meet the long-term goal aimed at limiting the increase in global average temperature
to below 2 degrees Celsius. It also urges the parties to the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to take action to achieve enhanced black
carbon and methane emission reductions in the Arctic and to report at the next
ministerial meeting, in 2015.
Another part of the Declaration also pays attention to protecting the Arctic
environment. It announces the Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution
Preparedness and Response in the Arctic, which is the second legally binding agreement
negotiated under the auspices of the Arctic Council. The Council decided to establish
a task force to develop an Arctic Council action plan or other arrangements on oil
pollution prevention and to present the outcomes of its work and any recommendations
for further action at the next ministerial meeting in 2015. The Declaration notes with
concern that Arctic biodiversity is being degraded and that climate change is the
most serious threat. It welcomes the Arctic biodiversity assessment and approves its
recommendations and encourages Arctic states to follow up on its recommendations.
Further on in the Declaration attention is paid to other environmental issues.
An important point of the Declaration is strengthening of the Arctic Council. It
acknowledges that the work of the Arctic Council continues to evolve to respond to
new challenges and opportunities in the Arctic. It requests senior Arctic officials to
recommend ways and means to strengthen how the work of the Arctic Council is
carried out, including identifying opportunities for Arctic states to use the Council’s
work to influence and shape action in other regional and international fora as well as
identifying approaches to support the active participation of Permanent Participants. It
requires them to present a report on their work at the next ministerial meeting in 2015.
There are some parallels between the conception of the Arctic Council and the
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting; however, there are also a number of significant
differences. Concerning these differences, the basis for consultative meetings of the
Antarctic Treaty is the Treaty itself (Article IX), while in the case of the Arctic Council
it is not a legally binding document. As already mentioned above, no special treaty
about the Arctic has been concluded. This also leads to a difference in the objective of
concluded acts. In the case of the AntarcticTreaty, Article IX, paragraph 1 presupposes
that the meeting shall be for formulating and considering, and recommending to
their Governments measures in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the
Treaty. A similar formulation is naturally missing in the Arctic Council document.
The acts concluded at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting are often specific