Can China Be Trusted In The Arctic?

China's icebreaker Xuelong docks at an ice covered area in the Antarctic during a 2014 expedition. [Photo/Sina Weibo]

Commander William Woityra, U.S. Coast Guard, US Naval Proceedings: China Can’t Be Trusted in the Arctic

Nearly 40 years ago, scientists sounded the alarm that emissions of industrial chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were eating a hole in the earth’s ozone layer, exposing the planet to harmful levels of radiation from space. The international community responded quickly to enact a ban on CFCs called the Montreal Protocol. It went into effect in 1989 and was universally ratified by 197 countries, including every member of the United Nations, as well as the European Union. It curbed emissions and was declared a major success.

However, in 2013, the trend turned around—slowly at first, but then faster. In June 2019, an international team of scientists published findings in Nature showing evidence that CFC-11 is being emitted by polluters in the Shandong and Hebei provinces in Northeastern China. When confronted by the EIA last year, 18 different Chinese companies made no effort to hide their use of CFCs, and the Chinese government appears to be willing to turn a blind eye to this illegal activity. Without domestic enforcement of the regulations in China, the accomplishments of the Montreal Protocol are in jeopardy.

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WNU Editor: The Danes have already red-flagged China's activities in the Arctic .... Denmark Has Put Greenland On The Top Of Its National Security Agenda (November 29, 2019). But this is old news. The Chinese made their intentions on what they want to do in the Arctic a long time ago .... China Wants To Exploit The Resources In The Arctic (July 24, 2014).