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This story was originally published by InsideClimate News.
For decades, through political tumult and changing global allegiances, the Arctic Council went about its business, producing groundbreaking scientific reports and hammering out binding agreements to ensure cooperation among its members and address climate change.
Even when diplomacy failed in other venues, the council, an international organization consisting of the eight countries that ring the Arctic Circle, was able to proceed with its work.
That ended, members of the council say, with the arrival of the Trump administration.
The shift in the Council was gradual at first, but by the second half of President Donald Trump’s term, his impacts were undeniable. The words “climate change” or even references to the subject became too controversial for inclusion in joint documents. Projects related to climate change proposed by other nations were shot down by US negotiators who knew there was