L’essor des activités économiques en Arctique : impact des changements climatiques et de la mondialisation

Abstract

The development of economic activities in the Arctic: impact of climate change and globalisationFrédéric Lasserre 1 Avec l'avènement des changements climatiques s'est développée l'idée, fort répandue dans les médias mais aussi chez de nombreux chercheurs, que ces mutations vont favoriser l'essor des activités économiques en Arctique, transport avec le transit entre Atlantique et Pacifique, et activités extractives. Si l'engouement pour l'idée d'une expansion rapide du transit maritime se fait plus nuancé que dans le passé, cette idée demeure encore portée par plusieurs chercheurs (

Supply Chain Operations in the Arctic

“…While some natural resource discoveries are promising in Alaska, Canada, and Russia, the large-scale development and operation of these projects remain uncertain in North America, whereas Siberian projects are benefiting from the Russian government's willingness to push for the expansion of extraction of resources. These ventures remain risky, since operating costs are high, but also because the industry remains very sensitive to world prices (Lasserre, 2021). The high volatility that marked 2020, between the pandemic and price wars, has had a definite impact on current projects, and it remains to be seen what the impact will be in the long term.…”

“…Companies already involved in Arctic shipping have adapted to the navigation challenges imposed by ice and Arctic climate, and so have the few that recently entered the market. Despite climate change, ice will always form in winter, temperatures will dip to -40°C with blizzards and the polar night will prevail for several months (Lasserre, 2021). Navigation challenges are constraints that crew experience, equipment, ice-classed vessels, and azipods on double-action vessels can overcome, as attested to by LNG carriers exploited by Sovcomflot for instance, or bulk carriers run by Fednav that can navigate in Arctic waters for most of the year.…”