Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy Volume 7 | Issue 1 6-1-2017 Arctic Law & Policy Year in Review: 2016 Arctic Law & Policy Institute, University of Washington Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp Part of the Environmental Law Commons, and the Natural Resources Law Commons Recommended Citation Arctic Law & Policy Institute, University of Washington, Arctic Law & Policy Year in Review: 2016, 7 Wash. J. Envtl. L. & Pol'y 115 (2017). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp/vol7/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at UW Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy by an authorized editor of UW Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. : Arctic Law & Policy Year in Review: 2016 Copyright © 2017 by Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy ARCTIC LAW & POLICY YEAR IN REVIEW: 2016 Arctic Law & Policy Institute, University of Washington* I. INTRODUCTION: ARCTIC NEWS HIGHLIGHTS ........................................................ 117 II. TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS ...................................................... 127 A. U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea .......... 127 B. U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) .......................................................... 128 C. International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) .................... 128 D. Ballast Water Management Convention ........ 130 E. Arctic Council Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic ..................................................... 130 F. Arctic Council Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic ..................................................... 130 G. Declaration Concerning the Prevention of Unregulated High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean .................................................... 131 H. Draft Arctic Council Agreement on Marine Scientific Research .......................................... 131 III. STATE PRACTICE................................................. 132 A. United States: Federal Government ............... 132 1. U.S. Congress.......................................... 132 2. President ................................................. 133 3. Department of State ............................... 136 4. Department of Homeland Security/ U.S. Coast Guard ............................................ 136 5. Department of Commerce/NOAA ........... 140 6. Department of Interior/BOEM/BSEE/USGS .................. 142 7. Department of Defense ........................... 145 8. National Aeronautics and Space Administration........................................ 149 9. Environmental Protection Agency ......... 149 10. Significant U.S. Court Decisions ............ 150 11. U.S. Arctic Research Commission .......... 151 12. National Ocean Council .......................... 152 13. Committee on the Marine Transportation 115 Published by UW Law Digital Commons, 2019 1 Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, Vol. 7 [2019], Iss. 1, Art. 6 116 WASH. J. ENVTL. L. & POL’Y [Vol. 7:1 System..................................................... 153 14. National Academies Transportation Research Board ....................................... 154 B. United States: Alaska ..................................... 154 C. Canada ............................................................. 156 D. China ............................................................... 159 E. Denmark/Greenland ........................................ 160 F. Finland ............................................................ 161 G. Iceland ............................................................. 162 H. Japan ............................................................... 162 I. Norway ............................................................ 164 J. South Korea ..................................................... 165 K. Russia .............................................................. 166 L. Sweden............................................................. 167 M. The European Union ....................................... 169 N. United Kingdom .............................................. 170 IV. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ................. 171 A. United Nations ................................................ 171 B. Arctic Council .................................................. 172 C. International Maritime Organization (IMO) .. 185 D. Food & Agriculture Organization Committee on Fisheries .......................................................... 188 E. International Whaling Commission (IWC) ..... 188 F. North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)...................................................... 191 G. Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) ............................................................. 192 H. UNESCO / IOC / ICES / PICES ...................... 198 I. World Trade Organization .............................. 199 J. International Tribunals .................................. 201 K. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) ............................................................ 203 V. SELECTED ARCTIC THEMES ............................. 204 A. Arctic Marine Shipping ................................... 204 1. Prognosis for Arctic Shipping ................. 204 2. Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment ...... 204 3. Arctic Shipping Routes ........................... 206 4. International Agreements on Shipping Safety ...................................................... 211 5. Arctic Shipping Safety Measures ........... 212 B. Polar Icebreakers ............................................ 215 C. Arctic Living Marine Resources ...................... 221 D. Arctic Non-Living Marine Resources .............. 228 E. Marine Pollution Prevention, Response & Liability ........................................................... 235 F. Arctic Marine Scientific Research ................... 236 G. Indigenous Arctic Residents ........................... 238 https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp/vol7/iss1/6 2 : Arctic Law & Policy Year in Review: 2016 2017] ARCTIC LAW & POLICY YEAR IN REVIEW: 2016 117 H. Military Activities in the Arctic ...................... 240 VI. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON ALPI NEW DEVELOPMENTS ................................................. 248 VII. SELECTED CONFERENCES ............................... 249 I. INTRODUCTION: ARCTIC NEWS HIGHLIGHTS According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with a boost by El Niño, 2016 set new records for global temperatures, capping three consecutive years of record global warming.1 In Alaska, for example, the average temperature was 31.9 degrees Fahrenheit — 5.9 degrees above the long-term average.2 The globally averaged sea surface temperature was the highest on record at 1.35° F above average.3 The globally averaged land surface temperature was also the highest on record at 2.57° F above average.4 The NOAA report records that in 2016 the Arctic experienced some of its highest air temperatures, least sea-ice (averaging just 3.92 million square miles) and earliest spring snow melt.5 2016 was the first full year of the United States’ chairmanship of the Arctic Council.6 Significant achievements included coming to an agreement to enhance scientific cooperation in the Arctic (scheduled to become binding in 2017)7, completing the ratification process for an agreement on oil pollution preparedness and response8, and finishing a five-year research project to release the Arctic Resilience Report.9 * Craig H. Allen, Judson Falknor Professor of Law, Director, UW Arctic Law and Policy Institute, with assistance from Malina Dumas (UW Law ’18). 1. NAT’L OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN. NAT’L CTR. FOR ENVTL. INFO., STATE OF THE CLIMATE: NATIONAL CLIMATE REPORT — ANNUAL 2016, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/201613 (last visited Jan. 31, 2017). 2. Id. 3. NAT’L OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN. NAT’L CTR. FOR ENVTL. INFO., supra note 1. 4. Id. 5. NAT’L OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN. NAT’L CTR. FOR ENVTL. INFO, ASSESSING THE GLOBAL CLIMATE IN 2016, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/global-climate-201612 (last visited Jan. 18, 2017). 6. The Arctic Council: A Backgrounder, ARCTIC COUNCIL, http://www.arctic- council.org/index.php/en/about-us (last updated Apr. 7, 2017). 7. Id. 8. Id. 9. Arctic Resilience Report, ARCTIC COUNCIL, https://oaarchive.arctic- council.org/handle/11374/1838 (last visited May 1, 2017). Published by UW Law Digital Commons, 2019 3 Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, Vol. 7 [2019], Iss. 1, Art. 6 118 WASH. J. ENVTL. L. & POL’Y [Vol. 7:1 Finland will succeed the U.S. as chair in May 201710 and hopes to host a meeting between President Putin and President Trump at its first Arctic Council summit of its term.11 A New Secretary-General for the U.N. On October 13, 2016, the U.N. General Assembly appointed António Guterres to replace Ban Ki-moon as secretary-general of the United Nations.12 Mr. Guterres served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.13 He has also been President of Socialist International (1999–2005)14 and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (2005–2015).15 He began his five-year secretary-general term of office on January 1, 2017.16 Global Climate Change Agreement At the high-level signing ceremony held at the United Nations on April 22,