BELGIUM: Arctic leaders appeal over global warming

Visiting the European Union headquarters in Brussels on May 25, indigenous leaders from Arctic regions around the world called on the EU to do more to fight global warming and to consider giving aid to their peoples. Associated Press reported that indigenous leaders representing the eight-country Arctic Council told officials at the European Commission that global warming was putting their people's way of life was at risk. Created in 1996, the Arctic Council comprises Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. The Arctic region is home to about 4 million people, including more than 30 different indigenous groups. A recent study undertaken by the Arctic Council said the effects of global warming on the world's polar region were getting worse and could open up the risk of flooding and erosion as the polar ice contracts.

From Green Left Weekly, June 1, 2005.

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From GLW issue 628