(Anchorage, Alaska) – The Alaska State Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) announced BSNC President & CEO Gail Schubert as one of three Alaska business leaders to represent the U.S. on the newly created Arctic Economic Council (AEC). The AEC willl work to foster business development in the Arctic, engage in deeper circumpolar cooperation, and provide a business perspective to the work of the Arctic Council, its parent organization.
The creation of the AEC comes at critical time. With the possibility of oil and gas exploration and production in U.S. Arctic waters, increased international shipping, as well longer ice-free periods and changing storm patterns, coastal Arctic communities face new challenges and opportunities. The other U.S. representatives selected are Lori Davey, General Manager of Fairweather, LLC, and Bruce Harland, Vice President of Business Development for Crowley Marine Services, Inc.
The Ottawa Declaration of 1996 formally established the Arctic Council as a high-level intergovernmental forum to provide a means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, with the involvement of the Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, particularly issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.