Climate Change and Environmental Security in the Arctic: Links between Geopolitical Concerns and Local Challenges

Climate change has been described as one of the biggest challenges facing mankind in modern times. The Arctic is one of several „hot spots“ where the impact of climate change is expected to be especially acute. What will those rapid environmental changes mean for the security of the region? Does climate change threaten the peace and stability of the region, and if yes, who is being threatened and how? This paper will examine the links between geopolitical concerns and local challenges related to the impact of climate change in the Arctic. Policy documents focusing on Arctic security will be reviewed, both documents of individual Arctic states and documents of the Arctic Council, the main regional body in the area. Those will be compared to policy documents in selected municipalities in Iceland that focus on climate change impacts and local environmental security. The purpose of the paper will be to explore if decision makers at the local, national and international level perceive threats related to climate change differently and if this is affecting how climate change is being responded to at the different levels of governance. The paper will rely on the theoretical framework of social constructivism, looking in particular at how the concept „security“ is constructed in different policy documents and if the meaning of the concept varies depending on which level of governance is being examined. The analysis also link to the broader debate about the meaning of security more generally, and if new security threats like climate change are challenging traditional realist security paradigms focusing on military threats and national security.