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The Arctic Circle is a remote, beautiful, and critical part of our planet. Covering one sixth of the Earth’s surface, and over twenty-four time zones, this region is home to more than…
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The most common misunderstanding is that the Arctic is just a frozen wilderness with a lot of ice and glaciers and a few polar bears roaming. On the contrary the Arctic is a very diverse part of our planet with multiple resources and economic opportunities, the home for over four million people of different nationalities and diverse ethnic origin.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
The old diplomatic model where only representatives of states have a formal role cannot work in today's world. We need open, democratic platforms that allow everyone to participate – it could be a young activist or a business leader, it could be a scientist or an indigenous leader.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
We must remember that about one-quarter of the planet is under the control of the indigenous communities of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Arctic. Quite frankly, we will never be able to deal with the challenges of the 21st century unless we engage and empower indigenous communities around the world.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
The ice is neither left nor right, it is neither Republican nor Democrat, it is simply melting. The consequences of the sea ice melting are enormous and will be felt everywhere from Texas to China.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
The term Arctic itself is misleading. It sounds like a region. It is in fact a big part of the planet of continental size. If you add all the Arctic areas up – Alaska, Canada, Greenland, the Nordics, and Russia – it's almost the size of Africa. Imagine if it was only 30 years ago when we discovered Africa!
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
If only one-quarter melted, it would lead to a 2-metre rise in sea-levels all over the world and would threaten thousands of cities and towns on every continent.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
The old diplomatic model where only representatives of states have a formal role cannot work in today's world. We need open, democratic platforms that allow everyone to participate – it could be a young activist or a business leader, it could be a scientist or an indigenous leader.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
The most common misunderstanding is that the Arctic is just a frozen wilderness with a lot of ice and glaciers and a few polar bears roaming. On the contrary the Arctic is a very diverse part of our planet with multiple resources and economic opportunities, the home for over four million people of different nationalities and diverse ethnic origin.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
The ice is neither left nor right, it is neither Republican nor Democrat, it is simply melting. The consequences of the sea ice melting are enormous and will be felt everywhere from Texas to China.
— Ólafur Ragnar GrímssonFormer President of Iceland (1996-2016)
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