March 2013
The “New Arctic” according to the President Grimsson
During his recent official visit to Paris, the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson delivered a compelling presentation at the « New Opportunities in the Arctic Conference » organised in his honor by the University Pierre et Marie et Curie and the think tank Le Cercle Polaire on the 26 of February 2013. President Grimsson was joined by three other prestigious speakers at the Couvent des Cordeliers; Michel Rocard, French Ambassador to the polar regions, Jean Chambaz, President of University Pierre et Marie Curie and Jean-Claude Gascard, scientific coordinator of the European scientific programme ACCESS...
At the opening session of the XXXV Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Hobart, Tasmania, on the 11th of June, former prime minister Bob Hawke and former French counterpart Michel Rocard were saluted as "heroes of the Antarctic" by Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke. Together they achieved what was considered impossible more than 20 years ago - persuading nations to put aside their sovereign interests and differences to ban mining on the nearly pristine icy continent and to agree that the environmental protection of Antarctica, above all else, was in the best interests of mankind.
