The IIEA and the Department of Foreign Affairs jointly hosts this public webinar on “Ireland and the Arctic Council” to discuss some of the issues and opportunities arising from Ireland’s application for observer status to the Council. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, delivers the keynote address. The proceeding panel is moderated by David Donoghue, former Ambassador of Ireland to the United Nations and to the Russian Federation.

The Arctic Council, established in 1996, is recognised as the primary forum for international cooperation and coordination in the Arctic region. The Council focuses in large part on environmental issues within the region and the situation of its indigenous peoples.

About the Speakers:

Keynote by:

Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence

Richard Cronin is Principal Adviser for Marine Environment for the Irish government and the current chair of the OSPAR Commission. He leads a team who work to ensure that Ireland has a clean, healthy and sustainably-used maritime area. Through the Chairmanship of the OSPAR Commission, he leads the consensus-based decision making that underpins the multilateral cooperation on the protection of the marine environment between the countries of the Northeast Atlantic, including European members of the Arctic Council.

Professor Anne Husebekk was elected Rector of UiT The Arctic University of Norway in 2013 and is serving a second term. The research and education in the University focuses on climate, environment and sustainability in the Arctic and globally. Previously, Professor Husebekk was appointed by Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg as the Norwegian member of a Norwegian-Swedish-Finnish group of experts tasked with identifying potential of business development in the Scandinavian Arctic.

Dr Audrey Morley is a lecturer in Physical Geography at the National University of Ireland Galway, and affiliated with iCRAG, the Ryan Institute and the PRU. She is also President of the Network of Arctic Researchers in Ireland (NARI). Dr Morley’s central research objective is to assess large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate dynamics during past warm climates to improve our understanding of future climate change.

Heather A. Conley is senior vice president for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic and director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Previously, she served as executive director of the Office of the Chairman of the Board at the American National Red Cross. Ms Conley also was also deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.