ABSTRACT

Energy security has become an important component in overall strategic thinking – the Arctic is not an exception to this rule –and its effects on the region can be studied on many levels. Arctic communities are concerned with access to energy supplies, often in the face of geographic isolation and high transportation costs. On the state and regional levels, the question of energy sustainability, especially in the wake of climate change, is paramount. Thus there is now a balancing act between the need to provide basic, but affordable and reliable, energy supplies to the whole of the Arctic while pursuing green, CO2-neutral energy options which mitigate the effects of climate change.