OGEL Special Issue Introduction: Emerging Issues in Polar Energy Law and Governance

It is my privilege to have been the guest editor of the special Polar energy law issue of OGEL. The last special issue relating to the Polar Regions was in 2012, and pertained only to the Arctic. The 2012 special edition focussed on boundaries, resources and the promise of co-operation in the Arctic Region.

Since 2012 there have been many developments in the Arctic. The Northern Sea Route has been expanded, and oil and gas development has been considerably expanded in both the European Arctic and the North American Arctic. In the European Arctic, a number of new states have been admitted as observers to the Arctic Council, including China and India. Yet strangely, the European Union is yet to be admitted to the Arctic council, even though three of its member states (Denmark, Finland and Sweden), as well as EEA states Norway and Iceland are members. The entry of the EU into the Arctic Council was blocked by Canada in 2013, as a result of the EU ban on seal skins, and by Russia in 2015 over EU sanctions against Russia in the wake of Russia's involvement in the Ukraine crisis. The Arctic Council has been an important player in the development of Arctic policy and law (both soft law and recent binding law relating to search and rescue and oil spill response).