The Northwest Passage: Consequences of a Climate Driven Dispute

• In Event: International Security and Canadian Politics

Abstract

The Northwest Passage has been transformed from a potential trade route from legend to viable maritime pathway across the far Northern reaches of the Americas. This is in large part due to climate change and decreased sea ice in the high North. Canada and the United States actively dispute the legal status of the waterway, international strait or internal territorial waters. While global shipping stands to gain economically from increased transiting of the Northwest Passage, the consequences are not solely monetary in nature. The environmental cost of large-scale international use of the maritime route could pose grave consequences for both the human and non-human Arctic environment. Fragile natural ecosystems, already impacted by dramatic warming, could be threatened in addition to the cultural security of Arctic communities, both indigenous and non-indigenous. This paper will examine the potential consequences and benefits to individuals, communities, and ecosystems of the Northwest Passage gaining the status of international strait. While not necessarily predictive, the study of possible outcomes of the Canadian-American dispute warrant study as the setting in which it takes place rapidly changes.

Author

• Tate Williams, Colorado State University