The EU has taken a first step towards reducing its environmental impacts on the Arctic region by investigating EU-driven pressures on the Arctic. Vice President of the European Parliament, Diana Wallis; Iceland's Senior Arctic Official, Greta Gunnarsdottir; and Nicholas Hanley, Head of the International Relations and Enlargement Unit for DG Environment, welcomed over 60 experts from government and civil society in Brussels to discuss the implications of a new report, the EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment, which shows that the EU is already addressing many Arctic environmental challenges, but that certain new and growing impacts must be addressed, both through EU and multilateral efforts.

As part of the EU's efforts to define its role in Arctic management and decision making, the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment funded the EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment to determine its impact, responsibilities, and policy options to protect the Arctic. This article summarises the key findings from the study and presents an overview of the EU's Arctic footprint. The article is available for download.

Emily McGlynn, Transatlantic Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented the EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment project to Arctic indigenous stakeholders at a side event organised by the European Commission, DG MARE during the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Norway, on 25 January 2011. The EU Arctic Footprint report was discussed alongside other EU Arctic policy developments.

Sandra Cavalieri, Fellow and Arctic Programme Coordinator at Ecologic Institute, presented the results of the EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment project at a conference hosted by the European Space Agency (ESA) on 8 December 2010 in Paris, France. The results show Europe’s Arctic environmental footprint from a broad range of sources and are added to the discussion on how ESA can improve its satellites and remote sensing data to contribute to the EU’s Arctic policy development. The presentation is available for download.

The Arctic is often referred to as the bellwether of global climate change. According to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment and the most recent assessment from the IPCC, the warming rate is twice that of the global average, with predictions of further increases leading to substantial loss of Arctic sea ice and large-scale thawing of the permafrost. The Arctic has also been a bellwether for the impact of long-range transboundary air pollution, both regarding human health and how pollutants affect wildlife. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals (e.g., mercury) are transported long distances through air and water, are deposited in the Arctic and bioaccumulate through the food chain. Some indigenous peoples have a high exposure to these pollutants, primarily through their diet. The goal of this project is to improve the effectiveness of EU environmental policies with respect to the Arctic region.