Arctic Yearbook 2015 | Page 30

30 Arctic Yearbook 2015 2015 2nd – The five Arctic coastal states agree to a ten year circumpolar action plan to protect and manage polar bears and their habitat. 11th – The Arctic Economic Council (AEC), founded in Iqaluit in September 2014, opens its Secretariat in Tromsø, Norway. September 15th-17th – Fifth International Meeting of the Arctic Council Member States, Arctic Council Observer States and International Academic Community Representatives, organized under the auspices of the Russian Federation Security Council, takes place in Arkhangelsk, Russia. 25th – Book release: “The Barents Region – A Transnational History of Subarctic Northern Europe.” Edited by Lars Elenius et al., this is the first common history book on the European North. 28th – Royal Dutch Shell announces that it will cease exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast “for the foreseeable future.” Shell had invested upward $7 billon on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas over the last years. October 1st – The European Council of the European Union adopted regulation that brings the EU ban on trade in seal products into compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. 28th (expected date as of publication) – The eight Arctic states send their heads of coast guard or equivalent official delegation to the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut to officially launch the Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF). 2015 Year in Review