Newsletter: War, Sabotage and Green Growth
During the video conference with his Russian counterpart at the Northern Fleet Alexandr Moyseyev, Joint Operation Headquarters Chief Yngve Odlo informed about practical issues related to the major Norwegian-led Cold Response 2022 exercise, in which 25 allied and partner countries are to participate. (Photo: Preben Aursand, Norwegian Armed Forces)
Dear reader!
War, military presence, theories about sabotage, and green energy have marked this week in the High North. And it is all about power.
The price on electricity is a hot topic this winter. It is also the topic of this week’s Friday commentary from our Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm:
“In the search for political solutions in order to reach the climate goals, there are proposals that are so weakly argued that they, like Boris Johnson’s advisors, are barely able to stand on their own two feet”, he argues and adds that one of these proposals is about revoking the most successful environmental measures for the past decades; lasting protection of some of our most precious river systems.
A commentary well worth the read!
Growth in the High North
We have interviewed the new Director of the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate Frank Bakke-Jensen about what will be important in the time ahead. Bakke-Jensen stresses cooperation and use of technology. (Norwegian only)
Northern Norway is booming. The County authorities in Nordland as well as Troms and Finnmark have allocated nearly NOK 26 million to nine main projects through the Arctic 2030 funding scheme. Green growth, de-population and the supply industry are among the projects receiving support. (Norwegian only)
In Greenland, however, the situation for the fish industry is not quite the same. The value of its fish exports decreased by almost half a billion Danish kroner in 2021.
Svalbard in the limelight
There is always a lot going on in Svalbard.
Now, Longyearbyen Local Council has acquired Scandinavia’s largest battery in the town’s first step towards emission-free energy supply.
And it has been two weeks since a breach occurred in one of the two subsea fiberoptic cables supplying Svalbard with internet connectivity.
In an op-ed, three Conservative politicians warrant clear information from national authorities, though so far, theories about sabotage are rejected. (Norwegian only)
Military activity
The large-scale military exercise Cold Response 2022 is just around the corner, and a spokesperson for the Norwegian Joint Operation Headquarters says this will be the largest Norwegian-led exercise conducted in Norway since the 1980s.
Last week, the Russian Northern Fleet was informed about the large-scale exercise in a video conference in order a.o. to avoid misunderstandings.
Sweden has also joined the field to manage what the Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist refers to as “a new security policy situation”.
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Wishing you all the best for the weekend on behalf of the HNN editorial staff,
Trine Jonassen,
News Editor, High North News
This newsletter has been translated from Norwegian by HNN's Elisabeth Bergquist.