Month: August 2019

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Aleksanteri Insight – Will the Ice Silk Road be­come the com­pass for the Arc­tic?

Today new Aleksanteri Insight paper by Dr. Sanna Kopra was published, titled “Will the Ice Silk Road be­come the com­pass for the Arc­tic?”.

Photo by Kimmo Brandt

China’s rise to great power status has raised concerns globally, and the operations of Chinese companies in Africa have been criticised for neglecting human rights and environmental issues, so the actions of the country in the Arctic are being closely monitored. Therefore it’s now a showcase for the participants of the Chinese Ice Silk Road project. By following an ambitious environmental policy – and requiring the same from local partners – China’s Ice Silk Road project has an opportunity to define the tides of the development of the Arctic region.

Aleksanteri Insight is a series of expert opinions, published by the Aleksanteri Institute quarterly. The latest issue can be read online.

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Dr. Sanna Kopra selected to visit European Commission’s Joint Research Centre site in Ispra

Dr. Sanna Kopra was invited to visit European Commission’s Joint Research Centre site in Ispra, Italy in November 2019 as one of the top young scientists in her field.

The Joint Research Centre site in Ispra is the third biggest site of the European Commission. Although established originally as a nuclear research site, the staff of the Ispra site work today both on non-nuclear (Sustainable Resources and Transport, Space, Security, Migration, Health and Consumer Protection, Energy, Efficiency and Climate Change, Growth & Innovation) as well as nuclear (Nuclear safeguards, Nonproliferation and Nuclear security) research.

The short visit includes lectures, a shadowing programme where the visiting young scientists are hosted individually by a scientific unit close to their field of expertise, visiting tour through some of JRC’s main laboratories.

Congratulations, Sanna, on this recognition of your talent!

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Summer School on Arctic Studies 2019

On 26.07-07.08.2019 Summer School on Arctic Studies was held at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The summer school was aimed for the advanced level undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at the University of Lapland, the University of Oulu and the University of Helsinki. The school was a part of the Finnish-Japanese Arctic Studies Program – a project led by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland in collaboration with the Universities of Helsinki, Hokkaido and Oulu.

photo: Arctic Centre

The Research Group on the Russian Environment was represented by Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen and Dr. Sanna Kopra, who gave 3 lectures each on different issues related to the Arctic.

 

Read more about the school on Arctic Centre website.

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“Climate Change and Arctic Security: Searching for a Paradigm Shift” book has been published online

“Climate Change and Arctic Security: Searching for a Paradigm Shift” book, edited by L. Heininen & H. Exner-Pirot,  has been published online. Sanna Kopra wrote a chapter for the volume, titled “China, Great Power Responsibility and Arctic Security”.

This book assesses the construction of security in the context of climate change, with a focus on the Arctic region. It examines and discusses changes in the security premises of the Arctic states, from traditional security to environmental and human security. In particular, the book explores how climate change impacts security discourses and premises as well as theoretically discussing the possibility for another change, from circumpolar stability into peaceful change. Chapters cover topics such as the ethics of climate change in the arctic, China’s emerging power and influence on arctic climate security, the discursive transformation of the definition of security and the intersection between urban, climate and Arctic studies. The book concludes with the question of whether a paradigm shift in our understanding of traditional security is possible, and whether it is already occurring in the Arctic.

More information on the book can be found on publisher’s website.

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Al Gore’s climate leadership training in Minneapolis

Our doctoral candidate Karoliina Hurri was selected to participate in the Al Gore’s climate leadership training, which is organised from 2nd to 4th of August in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Training includes five key themes about just transition to clean energy which are discussed in workshops and panel discussions. At Climate Reality Leadership Corps trainings, individuals spend three days working with former Vice President Al Gore and world-renowned scientists and communicators learning about the climate crisis and its solutions. The training objective is to gain the skills, knowledge, and network to shape public opinion, influence policy, and inspire your community to act at this critical time.

The themes are:

1.    Wetter, Warmer, and More Humid – A Changing Midwestern Climate

2.    Agriculture and Climate – The Problem and the Solution

3.       Homegrown Climate Solutions Powering the Midwestern Clean Energy Economy

4.       Realizing Climate Justice in Historically Marginalized Communities

5.       Climate Leadership from the Bottom Up

More details can be found on project’s page.