The Northern Sea Route: New Opportunities, New Challenges

• Published in: Nordicum-Mediterraneum
• Main Authors: Eleni Kontostathi, Polina Ananina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The University of Akureyri 2023
• Subjects: northern sea route (nsr); sino-russian cooperation; china’s arctic policy; lng market; arctic environment; Social sciences (General); H1-99; Human ecology. Anthropogeography; GF1-900; Arctic; Northern Sea Route
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.33112/nm.18.2.7; https://doaj.org/article/d0db941cc80a43e980349791da7b25b4

This paper focuses on the environmental challenges related to the future development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). With special reference to the Sino-Russian cooperation, this article assumes the opportunity for Russia to develop its Arctic zone with new infrastructure by taking advantage of the opening of the NSR as a future extension of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, the increasing shipping activities in the Arctic waters raise much concern regarding the vulnerability of the Arctic environment. The article concludes that a more environmentally conscious approach to the economic enhancement of the NSR is highly recommended.