Since October 2023, the Working Group on Environment (WGE) has been led by Finland, Norway and Sweden sharing the responsibilities of the chair. FOSPAC follows the interim chairship principle adopted by the WGE.
FOSPAC is focused on project activities. Currently, the Subgroup is implementing three major projects led by Finland, Norway and Sweden.
- Sustainable Green Transition in the Barents Region (BAVIS), 2023-2025
The project consists of three Work Packages to be realized in a form of workshops, study-visits and a pre-study:
- Work Package 1: Socio-ecological sustainability in the greent transistion in the Barents region.
- Work Package 2: Capacity building on battery value chain operations and activities between the Nordic countries – Pre-study.
- Work Package 3: Nature conservation and green transition.
The project is led by the Finnish Environment Institute funded by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (IBA-fund).
Check out project's homepage for more information and contact details.
- Marine Litter, 2024
The project follows Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter adopted by the Arctic Council and its Working Group on Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment. The overall objective of the strategic document is to support Arctic States’ efforts to reduce marine litter in the Arctic marine environment, prevent the potential negative impacts and mitigate the risks it may pose, and to improve cooperation on and awareness of this shared objective.
The follow-up project foresees arrangement of a seminar on reducing marine litter in Tromsø, Norway, scheduled for 2024. The event will discuss coordination of activities between Norway, Sweden and Finland, and develop further recommendations.
The project is led by the County Governor of Troms and Finnmark funded by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Norway.
- Climate Work in the Barents Region, 2023-2024
County Administrative Board of Norrbotten continues their activities related to regional climate strategies in the Barents area. The current initiative is based on the findings of the previous climate inventory project and is focused on three main spheres:
- Energy and electrification (including the new hydrogen initiatives)
- Land use
- Circular economy
Several webinars were held in 2023 by Sweden, Finland and Norway, and a roadmap for cooperation on sustainable green transition in the European North was created. Climate friendly solutions for socio-economical development of the Barents region will be further discussed by the project.
The project is led by the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency .
