The Standing Committee of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) will convene for the first meeting of the year in Kiruna, Sweden 13th to 15th of May. Parliamentarians from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Russia and Canada will discuss the transforming nature of Arctic. As Kiruna itself is relocating the entire city several kilometers eastward to escape erosion caused by decades of iron ore extraction, this process is seen important to understand among …the parliamentarians of the Arctic. Similar challenges are rising up also elsewhere in the Arctic as permafrost is melting and where the changing climate is forcing people to move.
In the Kiruna meeting, the parliamentarians will also have a chance to visit in the Esrange Space Center, a rocket range and research centre. It is a base for scientific research with high-altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things. Located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle and surrounded by a vast wilderness, its geographic location is ideal for many of these purposes.
Another major topic for the SCPAR meeting is the upcoming Arctic Parliamentary conference in Inari, September 16th to 19th, where the parliamentarians are going to discuss the ways they could support the people of the Arctic and how the negative effects of the climate change could be addressed. The aim is to decide what goals the parliamentarians will set for their work for the upcoming two year period.