Just Transition in the Arctic – articles by experts from the law faculty

Adjunct Romain Chuffart and Professor and Dean Rachael Lorna Johnstone have recently published articles in a special issue of The Polar Journal on Just Transition in the Arctic.

Romain's article, co-written with Aaron M Cooper of Stavanger University, Corine Wood-Donnelly of Nord University and Laura Seddon of Durham University, is called "Old Sea, New Ice: sea ice geoengineering and indigenous rights in Arctic Ocean governance." It discusses sea ice geoengineering initiatives in the Arctic. It considers if and how to develop an oceanic ethics component that considers Indigenous rights in the context of sea ice geoengineering in Arctic ocean governance. It draws parallels with the application of norms governing resource extraction to geoengineering plans in order to integrate Indigenous rights and identifies significant gaps and uncertainties in the applicable law.

Rachael's article, co-written with Karin Buhmann of Copenhagen Business School, is titled "Megaprojects on ice: lessons from the Kárahnjúkar hydropower project for a Just Transition." It reviews the process leading up to the construction of the Kárahnjúkar dam and aluminium smelter in East Iceland in the 2000s. It discusses the concept of a Just Transition in the Icelandic context in light of projects of energy demand. It then assesses the legal framework, implementation and consequences of the dam and smelter projects in light of just transition theory. It identifies aspects of the just transition from this case that can be applied to new energy projects in Iceland and elsewhere.

Both articles are available from The Polar Journal website. The special issue is curated by Dr Daria Shapovalova, Associate Professor at the University of Aberdeen.