What is the state of Arctic growth? Is economic development compatible with environmental protection? Why is China interested in the region? And what about other actors?

FNI Director Geir Hønneland and FNI researchers Gørild Heggelund and Arild Moe were recently in China as members of a delegation led by the Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education.

As part of an expert panel of three, FNI Senior Policy Analyst Christian Prip has spent the past year conducting a review of the International Whaling Commission. The final report is now completed and made available for the public.

Several FNI researchers attended the 59th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA), this year held in San Francisco, California.

The annual National People’s Congress (NPC), held on 5–20 March 2018, announced significant structural changes to the State Council ministries to make the system more efficient.

As the sea ice melts and the Arctic is opened to the exploration of resources and new transport routes, China is showing increased interest in the region.

Since the EU became interested in Arctic affairs, its relationship with Norway – its closest neighbour to the north – has been one of paradoxes. But why?

Carbon markets are developing and expanding around the world, but how and to what extent is their design shaped by learning and interaction between them? How do these markets function, and what is the role of design?

According to FNI researcher Andreas Raspotnik, there is no doubt that the EU is an ‘Arctic actor’ – and yet, what exactly does the Arctic mean to the EU?

FNI researcher Jørgen Wettestad has been selected to participate as a Lead Author for the Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).

On January 26, Beijing for the first time issued a white paper outlining Chinese ambitions in the Arctic region.

On Tuesday 19 December China formally announced the launch of its nation-wide carbon market. However, several questions are still left unanswered.

FNI director Geir Hønneland recently took part in a symposium about international law and politics in the Arctic, organized by the Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC) at Kobe University in Japan.

A meeting was held between the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and NIVA for the research project ‘Managing mercury through multilevel governance: Norway and China’ (MERCHINOR), funded by the Research Council of Norway. Other key partners (not present) are Peking University and Tsinghua University.

In the course of 2017, China will be setting up a nation-wide carbon trading market. However, recent developments indicate a watering down of the system, with no real trade or compliance requirements during the first two years of operation.

Aimed at regulating growth in the Norwegian aquaculture industry, the Government’s new ‘traffic light’ system entered into force on 30 October. But are the standards sufficiently stringent to ensure environmentally sound salmon farming?

A breakthrough was achieved at the 7th Session of the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty, held between 30 October and 3 November. After 10 years of negotiations, an expert group was set up to develop options to encourage and guide the implementation of farmers’ rights related to seed and propagating material. FNI contributed substantially to the breakthrough.

The Norwegian climate change whitepaper currently being discussed in the Storting details a strategy for achieving the 2030 emission targets set by the EU, and establishes a framework for closer cooperation with the Union. But what does this mean for Norway?

While largely perceived as a fight over oil resources, clashing assertions of sovereignty and competing maritime claims, the heart of the South China Sea conflict is really all about fish.

The impact of science and business in Arctic environmental politics is an important but understudied field. Fortunately, NUPI and FNI recently presented the first findings of a joint project addressing this puzzle.