You are the coordinator of the EU-PolarNet project, which is aiming to develop an integrated European research programme for the Arctic, and that forms a central part of the EU policy. In the long run this will also be important for the economy, but it is several steps away.’ We still need to do a lot of basic science in the Arctic and we need to have observation data in the Arctic to understand, for instance, how the disappearance of sea ice influences the weather over Europe. One thing, of course, is the connection towards economic development, which we don’t necessarily see. ‘I think the priorities are right and I am very happy that research has been given an important place. What is your view on the final text of the policy, does it give the research priorities that you had hoped to see? It will affect agriculture, it will affect the question do we need a lot of oil in winter or not, and various other aspects.’ It is important for Europe to understand what is happening in the Arctic and how it will affect us. It shows us in which direction we are going. So what happens (is that) there is a canary in the coal mine, so to speak. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the average of the rest of the world. The biggest indicator is the sea ice and temperature changes. ‘We see that the changes (in the Arctic) are very rapid. What’s the significance of this, what’s the urgency? The EU has just published a policy for the Arctic.
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