"ROVANIEMI, Finland - The United States has refused to sign an agreement on challenges in the Arctic due to discrepancies over climate change wording, diplomats said on Tuesday, jeopardising cooperation in the polar region at the sharp edge of global warming.

With Arctic temperatures rising at twice the rate of the rest of the globe, the melting ice is creating potential new shipping lanes and has opened much of the world’s last untapped reserves of oil and gas to commercial exploitation .

A meeting of eight nations bordering the Arctic in Rovaniemi in Finland on Tuesday was supposed to frame a two-year agenda to balance the challenge of global warming with sustainable development of mineral wealth."

Simon Johnson reports for Reuters May 7, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"U.S. Pressure Blocks Declaration on Climate Change at Arctic Talks" (New York Times) [3]

"Mike Pompeo Rejects Canada's Claims To Northwest Passage As 'Illegitimate'" (Guardian) [4]

"U.S. Cold-Shoulders Canada As Superpowers Square Off Over Arctic Riches" (CBC News) [5]

"United States Rattles Arctic Talks With a Sharp Warning to China and Russia" (New York Times) [6]