A Three-way Connection: The Arctic Express and Its Feedbacks to Global Environmental Change

There are close links between climate change, petroleum hydrocarbons and transportation in the Arctic which often are missed in discussions of the future of the region and globe. This article provides an analysis of how climate change, natural resource extraction and changes in transportation are related, arguing that this three-way connection is creating a "carbon transport corridor" through the Arctic that will enable the exploitation and distribution of petroleum resources, and thus contribute to further global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The relationships and feedbacks stemming from any one of these processes can result in outcomes that influence other processes. Thus the continued globalization of the Arctic along the Northern Sea Route can facilitate resource extraction and transport, and further drive the changes associated with climate change. A key focus of the paper is to discuss how these three-way connections are framed by different actors and interests, and to identify how different discourses influence both responses and outcomes. The paper considers the "dangers" of operating with an incomplete understanding of these interrelated processes, and concludes that limited discourses may inadvertently contribute to positive global change feedbacks in the Arctic, some of which may have catastrophic consequences.