Arctic Circle (organization) only eight countries with a speaking role: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. The establishment of the Arctic Circle has raised concerns that the organization may give countries such as China, India, and Singapore a greater voice in Arctic affairs. The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail called it "a move that seems certain to irk some northern nations" and added that it "will be seen as complicating, if not challenging, the primacy of the Arctic Council in the rapidly changing north." "The question," wrote environmental journalist Irene Quaile, "is which forum will turn out
Arctic Circle (organization) their commitments towards an accord, given the remaining progress that must be made before the conference. Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton, Philip Hammond, Al Gore and José Ángel Gurría have addressed the Assembly via video messages. The Arctic Circle Prize was awarded for the first time at the 2016 Arctic Circle Assembly to Ban Ki-moon, then-Secretary-General of the United Nations. In awarding the prize, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson explained that the prize recognized Mr. Ban’s leadership in international climate diplomacy, which he described as “an act of extraordinary statesmanship, courage and vision” given political opposition at the time he took up his