Oslo - Researchers studying the effects of global warming in the Arctic region off northern Norway briefed visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday on their research. Ban arrived late Monday at Longyearbyen, the main settlement in the Svalbard Archipelago north of the Arctic Circle.
The UN secretary general has said he wanted to see at first hand the effects of climate change in the Arctic region, and use the insights at a summit meeting he has convened in New York later in September.
That meeting is part of the UN chief's efforts to push for a new climate deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions at an upcoming summit in December in Copenhagen.
A Norwegian coast-guard vessel transported Ban overnight from Longyearbyen to Ny-Alesund where he visited international polar research stations including one manned by researchers from his native South Korea.
The UN head was accompanied by Erik Solheim, Norwegian environment and international development minister.
"His mission is to convince world leaders of the need for drastic measures against the climate threats," Solheim told broadcaster NRK.
Research suggests that the Arctic has warmed twice as fast as the global average in the past 100 years, impacting the extent and thickness of the sea ice.
Research director Knut H Alfsen at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research said the Arctic region was important to study, since "climate change is more rapid there" and "it is key for how the climate system responds to emissions of greenhouse gases."
Scientists are concerned that the melting sea ice and snow around the North Pole mean that heat from the sun is absorbed in the dark seas rather than reflected into the atmosphere.
The melting ice poses a threat to animal and birdlife in the region, as well as low-lying areas worldwide. A possible benefit would be access to hidden oil and gas reserves in the Arctic region as well as faster sea transport between Europe and Asia.
