Scotland’s Place in the High North

"Norway is a small nation – four and a half million people. And by land mass only 75^th in the League of Nations. But 12^th or 13^th if you add in its continental land mass. That's not to inflate Norway's importance but to highlight its responsibility. "When I say High North I include Scotland. There is a North Sea community based on past links and present interests and Scotland is in it. The High North is not about individual states but about a developing part of northern Europe focused on renewable energy. Ecosystems, migration flows, technological communities all make more sense when you are dealing with wind, wave and sun – they don't observe national boundaries. It's only with oil and gas that boundaries matter."

Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian Foreign Minister blew away an audience at Edinburgh's College of Surgeons on Thursday night with a smart, informed, funny and visionary speech about the future of the High North and the Arctic Ocean. In an Obama-like performance without notes but with lots of confident use of pictures on powerpoint (no words hooray!)he predicted tankers would soon be able to sail across the Arctic cutting 40% off journey times between Rotterdam and Yokohama.

I interviewed Mr Gahr Store for a Guardian Environment article and discovered that for some reason, our First Minister Alex Salmond cancelled a scheduled meeting just a day earlier. Indeed that was why I managed to grab 40 minutes of his time just before the lecture.

Dearie me. Without having spoken to anyone at the First Minister's office I can only hope the reason given to the Norwegians was true – it was European election day and Alex Salmond was needed for last-minute campaigning. Otherise it was a daft snub to a brilliant man. For more on all of this see my Scotsman column on Monday which will refer to the man who looks like John Wayne's Nordic cousin on the left below. Anyone know who he is???

 

Comments

[Neil Craig]

"renewable energy. Ecosystems, migration flows, technological communities"

In what way are these particularly relevent to Northern Europe? Norway has got vast amounts of hydro potential but we don't. "Ecosystems" exist everywhere & indeed tend to be more complex in jungle regions. Southern Europe has more to worry about on migration. Technology is not the exclusive property of Northen Europeans - see Singapore exactly on the equator.

For something particularly "northern" oriented see http://a-place-to-stand.blogspot.com/2008/12/big-rngineering-29-greening-arctic.html
but not something the renewababblers would approve of.