In April 1909, a group of Inuit guides shepherded Admiral Robert Peary and Matthew Henson to the North Pole for their final, intrepid assault on the wild lands of the Arctic. Peary, a Bowdoin College graduate, and Henson, the first African-American Arctic explorer, formed an unlikely team that encapsulates the spirit of American adventurism, opportunity, and cooperation. 

As the United States assumes the Chair of the Arctic Council for the next two years, it is important to keep the qualities of these northern pioneers in mind as we explore the prospects of the region and grapple with its warming climate.

To mark the beginning of a new period of stewardship in the Arctic, I joined Secretary of State John Kerry and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on April 17 in Iqaluit, Canada, to formally accept America's Chairmanship of the Arctic Council - an international coalition comprised of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States that works to protect the unique ecology of the high North and the interests of the Arctic people, while also spurring its economic productivity. As the leading nation of the Council, the United States now has the opportunity to demonstrate responsible governance and management of the region and advance the interests of the United States as well as the people of Maine.

As our world's climate warms, so too does the landscape of the Arctic. As a member of the Senate Climate Action Task Force, actively confronting the realities of a warming world is one of my top priorities and that extends into the Arctic. In fact, I recently urged the Department of the Interior to get a better handle on black carbon resulting from offshore drilling in the Arctic and am encouraged by Secretary Kerry's comments in Iqaluit that mitigating the impacts of climate change will be one of the United States' highest priorities as Arctic Council Chair. 

While we work to slow global warming, however, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that other nations are looking to capitalize on the changes in the Arctic - and the United States must be prepared to meet those changes as well. Melting ice opens up northern shipping lanes and access to myriad resources of oil, natural gas, and minerals. To expand our leadership in the region, I have called on Congress to increase our Coast Guard icebreaker fleet in the Arctic. These cutters play a vital role in ensuring the safety of American shipping vessels as they navigate the region, and it is essential that the United States maintains robust polar icebreaking capabilities.

Moreover, Maine's geographic location makes it the strategic lifeline between these newly available resources and the rest of the eastern seaboard. With the relocation of the Icelandic Steamship company Eimskip to Portland in 2013, Maine is now as closely linked to Scandinavia and Northern Europe as it is to the mid-Atlantic. Because moving freight by water is both safe and cost-efficient and it is the most environmentally friendly form of transportation, Arctic transit will attract businesses to Maine as we continue to develop and modernize accessibility in the region.


But all of this rests on the cooperation of other Arctic nations, which will be fundamental to our success on the Arctic Council. For example, the principal trade lane through the Arctic - the Northern Sea Route - runs along much of the Russian coast. As tensions run high from conflicts in other parts of the world, the United States should, and Secretary Kerry has said we will, work to foster a new era of cooperation that focuses on economic development and good environmental stewardship in the far North. 

The trip to Iqaluit was a meaningful and captivating experience. In essence, what we are seeing is the revealing of a new and enormously important ocean resource with respect to energy, security, and commerce. That presents us not only with challenges, but also with opportunities to work collaboratively with nations in the region and to demonstrate how this kind of situation can be peacefully and thoughtfully developed.

On the plane ride back from Canada, Secretary Kerry sat down with Senator Murkowski and me for a two-hour discussion that literally covered the world, including the Arctic, Syria, Iran, Russia and Ukraine, Yemen, Israel, and with a little congressional politics thrown in. Sitting in that folding chair on the plane home, I was reminded of the significant privilege and responsibility that comes with my job as a U.S. Senator - and that comes with being the leading nation on the Arctic Council.

In the century that has passed since Peary and Henson's expedition, no region has been impacted by climate change as significantly as the Arctic. Yet with these changes also comes great opportunity, and as the new Chair of the Arctic Council, the United States can be an active leader on top of the world.