This policy analysis, prepared for the Arctic TRANSFORM project, provides a comparative analysis of EU and U.S. policy relevant to dealing with the effects of climate change in Arctic marine areas. Arctic marine governance at present is a patchwork of rules, measures and polices at various levels and institutions. A key question is how better co-ordination among the current sectoral and regional approaches can be achieved to address future governance needs. A second question is whether even better co-ordination among these approaches will suffice to meet these needs, or whether a more comprehensive approach is required. Addressing the unique challenges facing the marine Arctic could be an opportunity for both the EU and U.S. to revitalise their co-operation and show combined environmental leadership.

This policy brief draws upon a series of background papers, expert meetings, and interviews to provide an overview of the international and EU governance options for addressing the rapid changes underway in the region. While reflecting the opinions of its authors, this policy brief benefits from the opinions and insights of the experts participating in the five thematic working groups of Arctic TRANSFORM.

This background paper, prepared by the Arctic Centre in September 2008 as part of the Arctic TRANSFORM project addresses the magnitude of current oil and gas activities in the offshore Arctic and outlines the potential environmental, social and economic consequences of the offshore hydrocarbon activities. It examines the international legal framework for offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic, including transboundary environmental assessment of oil and gas activities and addresses the current policy context in offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic.

The aim of this paper, prepared by the Arctic Centre in September 2008 as part of the Arctic TRANSFORM project, is to present the situation of the Arctic indigenous peoples in relation to the changing marine environment. The Arctic region is home to several groups of indigenous peoples (including Inupiat, Yup’ik and Aleut in Alaska, Inuit in Greenland and Canada, Saami in Fennoscandia and Russia and, Yup’ik, Chukchi, Even, Evenk and Nenets in Russia). Out of the total population of 4 million people in the Arctic, 10 % are indigenous. Climate change significantly impacts the traditional harvesting and other activities of indigenous peoples.

This paper presents an overview of the existing institutional and legal framework relevant to environmental governance, as well as formal and informal governance structures in the Arctic marine area. It highlights the complexity of approaches applicable at the local, regional and international scales, rather than identifying gaps in governance at the sectoral scale. The background paper is available for download.

The committees of the European Parliament play a critical role in ensuring the effectiveness of EU policy during both the development of legislation and policy and its subsequent implementation. The Committee on Foreign Affairs (Affaires étrangères, AFET) is one of the 20 Committees of the European Parliament and is, among others, responsible for the Common Foreign Security Policy (CFSP) and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Ecologic Institute was leading a consortium of six institutes given a framework contract to provide the European Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committees with independent expert advice on a range of issues relating to developmental and environmental policy. During the course of this project, standard briefings, ad-hoc briefings, studies and workshops were conducted.

As the impacts of climate change and global demand for marine resources have increased, the development of an integrated, holistic marine governance framework has become a key goal for both the EU and US. Recent policy events on both sides of the Atlantic provide a window of opportunity to significantly improve marine governance in national and international waters. To this end, the Ecologic Institute led a transatlantic project team that convened a multi-stakeholder dialogue allowing experts from the EU, US and other regions to develop best practices for integrated marine management.

<p>&#13; The 2010 Senior Congressional Staff Study Tour of Germany brought Chiefs of Staff of members of the US Congress to Berlin and Cologne to take stock of the political situation in Germany after the federal election in September 2009 and before the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia in May 2010. On invitation by The United States Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC), R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute led a discussion on the current trends and outlook for energy policy in Germany and the European Union.</p>&#13;

<p>&#13; In celebration of the 10th anniversary of its Center for Sustainable Enterprise, the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School hosted a conference on Global Innovations in Energy: How Business Is Addressing Climate Change in Chapel Hill, NC, on 20-21 April 2010.  R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute provided a European perspective to a plenary session on The Energy Policy and Regulation Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities.</p>&#13; <p>&#13; </p>

<p>Ecologic Institute implemented an ongoing project evaluation of the LIAISE network of excellence to assess the outcomes and the impacts of the LIAISE Network of Excellence. The main purpose of this was to identify and exploit opportunities to bridge the existing gap between the research and the policy community in the field of Impact Assessment (IA) and to improve the use of IA tools in policy making.</p>

<p>&#13; Christiane Gerstetter, Fellow Ecologic Legal, provided an introduction to various international agreements to a Palestinian audience during a workshop in Ramallah on 29-30 March 2010. The workshop was convened by the Environmental Quality Authority of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Its aim was to raise awareness among Palestinians about international environmental agreements.</p>

This article by Christiane Gerstetter, Dominic Marcellino, and Elena von Sperber explores the state of the climate technology transfer negotiations following the COP 15 meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009. The article appears in the Spring 2010 edition of the journal Carbon and Climate Law Review.

<p> Ecologic Institute was invited to participate in a conference on &quot;Climate Change Policy: Lessons from the European Experience&quot; hosted on 25 and 26 March 2010 by the Center for European Studies at Rutgers University as part of &quot;Lessons from Europe&quot;, a two-year program of events exploring what US policy-makers and citizens can learn from the experiences of European democracies in addressing 21st century policy challenges.</p>

<p> International climate negotiations featured in a panel discussion on 2 December 2009 at the Center for German and European Studies of Brandeis University in Boston, where the Ecologic Institute was asked to provide expert insights on the likely outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit later that month. Titled &ldquo;Copenhagen Climate-Change Conference: What is the Deal? Global Perspectives on a Failed Global Climate Change Agreement&rdquo;, this panel attracted a large number of participants to discuss the prospects for a legally binding climate change agreement.</p>