Arctic Yearbook 2015 | Page 26

26 AY 2015 Year in Review 2014 October 31st – The second annual Arctic Circle event is held in Reykjavik, Iceland. The 2014 Arctic Yearbook is launched. 22nd-23rd – US announces its priorities for its Arctic Council Chairmanship 2015-17, at a Senior Arctic Officials meeting in Yellowknife. Its overarching theme is One Arctic: Shared Opportunities, Challenges and Responsibilities. November 17th-21st – The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopts the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code), and related amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) to make it mandatory. 25th - Canadian Auditor General Michael Ferguson releases his audit of the Nutrition North report, sparking debate on the best ways to address the high rates of food insecurity in the Canadian Arctic and beyond. 28th – Early general elections were held in Greenland following a spending scandal. A three party coalition government, led by Kim Kielsen, was formed consisting of the incumbent Siumut and Solidarity parties alongside the Democrats. December 11th – The head of the Northern Sea Route Administration, Alexander Olszewski, announces that in the year to December 1, 2014, the volume of transit cargo through the Northern Sea Route fell by 77%, from 1.176 million tons in 2013 to 274,000 tons. 14th – Denmark provides a submission for its Arctic Ocean extended shelf to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), claiming just under 900,000km2.