Polar Researchers’ Day

On behalf of the Government of Greenland, I am very much honored to be here today.

We can in Greenland feel that over the past year there has been a marked increase in interest in the conditions in the Arctic and the opportunities that arise, especially in light of the climatic changes that can be observed with by simply looking at nature.

When you say Arctic, you must say Greenland. In Greenland, we are therefore very happy that there now is a common Arctic strategy for the Kingdom of Denmark, as this may give us a common ground in many areas of interest, which the ever-increasing focus on the Arctic demands.

The list of participants for this Polar Researchers’ Day is impressive, and the areas covered by the participants today can take your breath away. Today’ theme pays particular attention to research and climate, but we are all aware that there are many other interesting areas of great importance.

I can here mention the petroleum and gas resources found in the Arctic. Furthermore, the documentable large incidence rare earths that easily could break the Chinese monopoly on world trade with rare earths, and at last but not least all the data concealed in the Arctic. It is preserved in the ice, the snow, and carried in the air, and are waiting to be made visible through research.

As the Minister for Education and Research there are two things that have special importance to me. What can Greenland contribute which in this context and how can the people of Greenland use these opportunities and this information?

Greenland's biggest contribution is of course that we let researchers come to Greenland and collect data and gain knowledge in - what we like to call - the world's finest laboratory. More and more scientists research in and around Greenland, which make us very happy. Not only because it raises the awareness of Greenland, but also because we can benefit of the knowledge generated in our daily life. As it extremely important when we must make decisions which are achieved from new knowledge.

A good example of this is the continuous research on marine resources and their interaction with changes in the ocean temperature. It is crucial to understand the location of the prawns as it has a direct impact on our largest industry and biggest export product.

The best global example of knowledge and understanding gained through research in Greenland must certainly be the knowledge that we have on the global climate change. About how the climate has been before and how can we expect it to evolve in the future?
A researcher in Kangerlussuaq told me this summer that we are not heading towards global warming but we just returning to normal temperatures, which apparently is higher than our global averages temperature today. This was a very interesting piece of information, when we - referring to the Kyoto Protocol - are going to buy CO2 quotas for Greenland.

In Greenland, we have already learned that climate change requires adjustments. Can we stop the climate change here and now or even in the nearest future? The politically incorrect answer is NO. It is therefore important to adapt to the climate change and recognize the opportunities and challenges.

But if you have to make an optimal adaptation, it will require knowledge, which can be achieved through research within all branches. The knowledge that scientists create, we as politicians need to relate to and act upon. This can I say without becoming suspected of voice fishing, because none of you, who are here today, can vote in Greenland J.

So what is important for Greenland - and described in the Arctic strategy?

• It is important that research done in Greenland are disseminated and used internationally.
• It is important that research results can be used by the people living in Arctic areas to support the rapid cultural, social, economic, and business development.
• It is therefore important to ensure that Arctic research is disseminated as the arctic populations can benefit from it.
• It is important for Greenland that international research projects seeking cooperation - wherever possible - with Greenlandic actors.
• Research and education are closely linked - and must be closely linked to economic and business development.
• It is important to the development of research in Greenlandic and Arctic issues, that the Arctic Strategy makes it clear that the Kingdom will maintain its international leadership in a number of research areas concerning the Arctic, and will promote national and international arctic research. This includes work to promote Danish, Greenlandic, and Faroese research institutions' participation in international research and monitoring activities.

That it is a strong strategy is made clear as it was signed at the highest foreign-polical level, and two of the signatories are leaders in their respective countries. The seriousness and importance of the strategy is also highlighted by participants at this Polar Researchers' Day.

As a combined Education and Research Minister it is also my task to create future researchers. Furthermore, I can here tell you that we are working on a very specific agreement between the Government of Greenland and the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Knowledge Centre in Sorø about sending Greenlandic talents in science and engineering to Sorø, so that their talent may be developed further. Moreover, in future more students will be sent from Denmark to Greenland, where they can do field studies - both during summer and winter time.
By this, we hope to specifically enhance and further qualify the talents that later will be developed to benefit the entire community.

So how is the research community in the Greenland today?
In short, one can say that it is emerging and there is still great potential to develop in many different directions.

There is excellent collaboration between Greenland and other countries on Arctic research. Here are some examples:

• Zachenberg is a good example of a well-functioning research collaboration between Greenland, Denmark, and the international research forums.
• The ice core drilling at NEEM is another example of a high level research, with mixed participation of internationally recognized research teams.
• Cooperation between the Danish Government and the Government of Greenland on the Climate Research Centre. And the Climate Research Centre’s partnership with Canada.
• The ARTEK department in Sisimiut, which offers both education and research facilities.
• Joint Committee projects: Science in Education with Danish, American, and Greenlandic high school students and teachers visiting research stations on the ice. And the field school, where students conduct research in Kangerlussuaq and visiting scientists in the field.

In Greenland, research is done in many different scientific areas. Just to mention some: research in social sciences at the University, natural science at the Institute for Natural Resources, health science at the hospitals and at the University, and in engineering and natural science at ARTEK/DTU and at Asiaq.

However, one challenge for research in Greenland is that the research communities are small and often specialized. In addition, research and monitoring in the Arctic is resource and logistic demanding, and we must therefore continue to encourage to international cooperation and seek flexible administration and minimize administrative burdens for the projects. We are aware of this in the Greenlandic administration, and we are therefore working to simplicity the access to obtaining research permits.

From a Greenlandic side, we are also working on establishing a Strategic Research Council, as known from other Nordic countries, and we are working to gather our research funding in one pool, in order to coordinate the resources better. This Research Council shall make its recommendations to the Government of Greenland and to the Greenlandic parliament.

An important task and an important goal for the future are to ensure that the knowledge gained by research is passed on. Most of you are probably thinking about publications in international journals. It is of cause important to publish in those, but it is equally important to make these publications legible and easy to access for non-professionals. I hope you will help to make the research and research results more popular. Because how can we make research into something everyone can relate to and make more people interested in?

And how do we ensure that there is an anchoring of research in Greenland and how do we develop the Greenlandic research communities?

Yes, the questions are many, as it’s often in research. I hope you will join with us in finding answers to these many questions.

With this pronounced hope, I will say thanks for the word, and I hope we will meet sooner or later in world prettiest laboratory.

Thank you.