Lords Arctic Committee to host bumper day of evidence
The House of Lords Committee on the Arctic will next Tuesday hold three evidence sessions on key issues for the region including shipping, opportunities for energy resource extraction and the role of Russia in the Arctic.
The Committee will take evidence from:
10.40am
- Tom Paterson, Senior Vice-President, Shipowning, Arctic, and Projects, Fednav
- Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Director of SovComFlot
- Rob Hindley, Lead specialist in Arctic technology, Lloyd's Register.
11.40am
- Professor Mike Bradshaw, Professor of Global Energy, Warwick Business School
- Dr Richard Powell, Associate Professor of Human Geography, University of Oxford
- Professor Frances Wall, Associate Professor in Applied Mineralogy, University of Exeter.
2.00pm
- Professor Geoffrey Boulton OBE FRS FRSE, Senior Honorary Professorial Fellow, University of Edinburgh
- Dr Andrew Foxall, Director of the Russia Studies Centre at The Henry Jackson Society
- Tim Reilly, Arctic Advisory Group
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In the first session areas that will be discussed include the prospects for a significant increase in trans-Arctic shipping, what type of shipping or cargo might be attracted by the opening up of Arctic shipping routes and what kind of infrastructure would be required in the Arctic region to safely support an increase in shipping.
This will be followed by a session on energy exploration in the Arctic where issues covered will include the accuracy of estimates of the amount of recoverable oil, natural gas and minerals in the Arctic, how important Arctic oil and gas reserves might be in a global context and the response of local communities in the Arctic to new oil, gas and mineral extraction projects.
In the afternoon the day's final session will focus on Russia's role in the Arctic and will include discussions on its aspirations for the Arctic Council, how tensions between Russia and European nations might impact on Arctic cooperation, and the impact that sanctions might have on Russian oil and gas developments in the Arctic.
The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
