United Kingdom updates Arctic Policy Framework, responding to a changing and more contested region.

On 15 October, the UK Government published an update to its Arctic Policy Framework to respond to the unprecedented scale and speed of change in the Arctic: accelerating climate and environmental change; a more contested security environment; growing strategic competition; and increasing economic interest as the region becomes more accessible.The policy has been developed in close dialogue with partners in the region, including the governments of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The UK is sharpening its Arctic priorities while maintaining the fundamentals of its long-term approach to the region, with the people of the Arctic at its centre. The UK will remain a committed and responsible neighbour, a partner in science and stewardship, and a steadfast ally in support of security and stability on which the Arctic’s future–and the UK’s–depends. There can be no UK or global security without Arctic security. Launching the policy update, UK Minister for the Polar Regions, Uma Kumaran said:

• The Arctic is changing, fast, and our Arctic policy must change with it.
• Today we launched the United Kingdom's new Arctic Policy Framework, strengthening our commitment to science & international cooperation.
• What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic.

The update sets out five priorities with which to galvanise UK efforts, focusing engagement with partners including the Kingdom of Denmark to bring together expertise across science, technology and security. The UK offers practical capability to help our collective response to the Arctic’s growing challenges and opportunities:

1. Understanding and responding to a changing Arctic, to better inform policy by furthering our understanding of climate and environmental change, to address its causes and impacts, and draw on the United Kingdom’s Polar research capabilities and expertise to drive research collaboration that recognises the value of modern science and traditional knowledge.
2. Enhancing security and stability, by stepping up the UK’s defence contribution to the High North, including through a NATO-first approach and investment in technology and infrastructure, in conjunction with partners to maintain credible deterrence and warfighting readiness without seeking escalation or unduly securitising the region.
3. Supporting strong and effective governance, including by reaffirming UK support for the Arctic Council and championing rules-based international governance consistent with established norms and fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
4. Building responsible trade and economic partnerships, where the United Kingdom has expertise and capabilities to offer, while managing risks to our security, safety and environment and ensuring responsible and transparent economic activity that benefits Indigenous communities and other inhabitants of the Arctic. 
5. Strengthening resilience, to deter threats to our security and prosperity by working collaboratively to enhance our understanding of the risks that we and our partners face from this rapidly changing region and appropriate mitigations. 

The British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, Victoria Billing said:

• The United Kingdom is committed to playing a strong role in ensuring the Arctic is a secure, sustainable and prosperous region for those who call the Arctic home, and for those who are impacted by what happens there.
• I am pleased that the UK and the Kingdom of Denmark partnership helps deliver this aim through growing cooperation in science, security and trade.
• We will continue to turn words into action. In recent months alone, UK Marines have trained in the Faroe Islands with Danish Special Forces, we have increased funding for the ARIA Greenland Climate Tipping Points programme to £114m, and opened applications for the first Chevening scholarships from Greenland.