'We're close to a tipping point,' Arctic Circle chairman tells CGTN

When landing in Iceland's capital in mid-October, one may catch a faint whiff of sulphur in the air. It comes from hydrogen sulphide released by the country's geothermal water system. Yet this smell is a treasure.

Across Iceland, about 90 percent of all homes are heated with geothermal energy, making it one of the greenest countries in the world. For an island nation in the Arctic region, the green transition carries even greater weight, as these regions are among the most vulnerable to climate change.

Now, participants from nearly 70 countries – spanning Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East – are gathering in Reykjavík for the Arctic Circle Assembly, one of the world's largest platforms for Arctic cooperation. Discussions range from Arctic governance and sustainability to the protection of Indigenous communities and scientific collaboration.

Some sessions are particularly eye-catching. The opening panel – "Trump and Putin are in the same room, can multilateralism survive in the Arctic?" – pinpoints the central issue: in a world fraught with confrontation, can governments still work together today to address the challenges of tomorrow?

The Arctic Council after 2022 

The Arctic Council, founded in 1996, brings together eight member states – Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States – along with 13 observer states, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, which joined in 2013.

At the Arctic Circle Assembly this year, some are calling to restructure the Council to include more participants, while others warn of existing and emerging threats.

Unsurprisingly, some of the debate centers on Russia – should the West decouple from a country that controls nearly half of the Arctic?

After the military confrontation began between Russia and Ukraine in 2022 – when Russia held the Council's chairmanship – many Arctic states suspended or limited engagement with Moscow. 

"Let's not ignore the reason why we are not working with Russia – because they attacked our neighbors," said Clarissa Duvigneau, German Ambassador to Iceland.

In May 2023, Norway formally took over the chairmanship, and Denmark now holds the position.

A call for 'science diplomacy'

Former Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who chairs the dialogue-seeking non-profit organization Arctic Circle, told CGTN the world is "close to a tipping point," warning that geopolitical tensions are undermining scientific cooperation in the region.

"At that time of [the Cold War], there was more scientific cooperation between the Soviet Union and the West than now," he said. "So we are in a very difficult situation. And hopefully also I think the kind of tension you see in some areas between China on one hand and the U.S. on the other has so far not impacted scientific cooperation in any big way."

Grímsson said Arctic Circle promotes "science diplomacy" – encouraging scientists to keep collaborating even when governments are at odds.

"We are being bombarded with requests from scientists to try to facilitate that," he said. "It is quite frankly not acceptable. In a world where we are gaining increasing knowledge of space and so on, we fundamentally lack even elementary knowledge of a big part of our own planet. And that is the part, the ice-covered part, that will determine the future of the planet."

What about China?  

China's Arctic policy, outlined in its 2018 White Paper, can be summarized as one of respect for Arctic sovereignty, participation through scientific and economic collaboration, promotion of sustainability, and support for the Arctic Council and multilateralism.

In research, China operates the Yellow River Station in Svalbard, Norway, established in 2004. Its icebreakers Xuelong and Xuelong 2 conduct regular Arctic expeditions on climate, oceanography and ecosystems. The country has also invested in renewable energy, critical mineral exploration, and digital and satellite cooperation.

"So the contribution by the scientific institutes in Asia, including the Polar Research Institute in China, has been very, very important," said Grímsson.

However, China's growing involvement in the Arctic – particularly its partnership with Russia since the Ukraine conflict – has drawn some criticism from Western countries.

A recent example is the cargo ship Istanbul Bridge, operated by the Chinese-controlled container line Sea Legend, which this week completed a voyage from China to the United Kingdom via the Northern Sea Route – through Arctic waters and Russia's economic zone – cutting transit time by nearly half.

Nong Hong, Executive Director of the Institute for China-America Studies, argued at the Assembly that China is not working solely with Russia but with a variety of partners across the region, adding that Russia itself is cautious about becoming overly dependent on Chinese investment and China is cautious about relying too much on one single partner.

One of China's most active partners in the region is Iceland, the host country of this year's event. During the Icelandic president's recent visit to China, the two countries issued a joint statement to strengthen cooperation on geothermal energy and the green transition – underscoring their shared ambition to accelerate decarbonization.

A prominent example is Carbon Recycling International (CRI), an Icelandic company that converts captured carbon dioxide and hydrogen into renewable methanol – a cleaner fuel for transport and industry. 

China hosts CRI's only commercial-scale CO2-to-methanol plants, with new projects under construction using wind power and biomass. The company is set to open another plant in China during the president's official visit.

While there is growing consensus on the urgency of cutting carbon emissions, 2024 saw yet another record high. Grímsson said the world can no longer rely solely on governments to take action.

"It's not just what governments will do," he said. "It's what we – collectively – will do."