The Arctic Council

Senior Advisor for International Organizations Hodayah Finman (seated, center) represented the United States at the Arctic Council in June 2011, and joined colleagues from other PSI contributors Finland, NEFCO, Norway, Sámi Parliament, Sweden, and the Russian Federation.

On June 11, 2012, the U.S. EPA joined the Arctic Council’s Project Support Instrument (PSI), a new financial instrument designed to attract resources and partners to Arctic Council-approved projects that reduce harmful contamination in this sensitive ecosystem. To help operationalize the PSI, U.S. EPA has provided $1 million for use in project(s) that will reduce black carbon emissions from diesel sources in Russia.

Consistent with ACAP’s ongoing work, other areas of planned PSI activity include projects to abate or eliminate the release of hazardous substances such as persistent organic pollutants and mercury and action on short-lived climate-forcing pollutants in addition to black carbon. The PSI is open to contributions from the eight Arctic Council member countries, observers, and other interested parties alike. The PSI is administered by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and pledges currently stand at U.S. $19.6 million.

ACAP representatives will further discuss the PSI and upcoming projects at a Working Group meeting September 13-14, 2012.