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Arctic Transit

Arctic Transit
Regulating the Sustainability Transition of the Transport and Mobility System in the Arctic (ARCTIC TRANSIT)

Duration: 9/2022 – 12/2024

Webinar 23.1.2023: Sustainability transition of the transport and mobility system: perspectives from the ULAP research community

 

Research Team:

Faculty of Law:

Faculty of Social Sciences:

For emails,  use the following structure: firstname.surname(at)ulapland.fi
For phone numbers, please see https://www.ulapland.fi/EN/Contact-information

Abstract: Climate change and other environmental challenges require radical change of production and consumption systems, transport and mobility being one such system. These changes are called sustainability transitions. With the Green Deal, the European Union seeks a sustainability transition of the transport and mobility system. While many decisions on this transition are made at the European level, the effects are seen on the local level. Furthermore, the kind of transport and mobility system employed in European capitals is not feasible in the Arctic due to the latter’s special conditions.

This project first identifies the local barriers, risks and solutions of sustainability transitions in the Arctic. Law has a central role in the transition, so the project also analyses how current legislation affects sustainability transitions. Furthermore, the project analyses what type of legislation Finland and the European Union should have in place in order to achieve the transition effectively yet in a manner that is considerate of the local situation at the Arctic.

In Finnish

Tiivistelmä: Ilmastonmuutoksen torjuminen ja muut ympäristöhaasteet edellyttävät tuotanto- ja kulutusjärjestelmien radikaalia muutosta ja liikkumisen järjestelmä on yksi keskeinen tällainen järjestelmä. Näitä muutoksia kutsutaan kestävyysmurroksiksi tai vihreäksi siirtymäksi. Vihreän kehityksen ohjelman myötä Euroopan unioni pyrkii liikenne- ja liikkuvuusjärjestelmän kestävyysmurrokseen. Vaikka monet tätä murrosta koskevat päätökset tehdään Euroopan tasolla, vaikutukset näkyvät usein paikallistasolla. Lisäksi sellainen liikkuvuusjärjestelmä, jota käytetään Euroopan pääkaupungeissa, ei ole toteutettavissa Arktisella alueella sen erityisolosuhteiden vuoksi.

Tässä hankkeessa tunnistetaan ensin arktisen alueen kestävyysmurroksen paikalliset esteet, riskit ja ratkaisut. Oikeudella on keskeinen rooli murroksessa, ja siksi hankkeessa analysoidaan sitä, miten oikeus vaikuttaa kestävyysmurrokseen. Lisäksi hankkeessa analysoidaan, millaista lainsäädäntöä Suomella ja Euroopan unionilla pitäisi olla, jotta murros toteutuisi tehokkaasti ja Arktisen alueen erityispiirteet otettaisiin huomioon.

Workpackges

WP1 Identifying the problem at the local level (Suopajärvi & N.N.)

In WP1, we ask what local barriers and risks there are hampering the sustainability transition of the transport and mobility system in the Arctic, and if sustainability transition does occur, what risks could it pose. This analysis is divided into three phases. First, we review the relevant local, national and European policy documents to identify possible barriers and risks. Second, we divide the identified factors into two groups: those which are in the hands of local actors and those which require decisions at the national or European level. Third, we arrange local stakeholder workshops on those identified issues that can be addressed at the local level. Stakeholders to be invited are, for example, authorities, operators of aviation and land-based transport and mobility services and NGOs. The purpose of the workshops is to co-produce solutions and paths towards a just transition of the transport and mobility system.

WP2 Legal challenges to the sustainability transition (Huttunen, Kaisto, Tuominen, Similä):

WP2 assesses how law affects sustainability transitions. This question is approached both from a practical and theoretical perspective. On the one hand, we seek to understand the legal factors affecting the national and European level issues identified in WP1. What kind of discrepancies and problems, on the doctrinal and regulatory levels, characterize these legal issues and their implications for the Arctic? On the other hand, by building on various research traditions (law and technology studies; adaptive and transformative governance; new constitutionalism), we seek to make visible the often implicit and hidden ways in which the law affects sustainability transitions.

As a part of this exercise, we seek to further conceptualize the role of law in society. The aim is to reassess the central claims of the aforementioned three research traditions in light of sustainability transitions generally and that of the transport and mobility system in the Arctic particularly.

WP3 A sustainable transition for the Artic (Tuominen, Suopajärvi, Huttunen, Similä, NN):

WP3 focuses on issuing legislative suggestions. What type of legislation should Finland and the EU have in place in order to foster the sustainability transition of the transport and mobility system? More specifically, what kind of legislative action would be most effective but also consider the local situation in the Arctic?

This question is approached by synthetizing the results of WP1 and WP2 with the aim to formulate feasible regulatory models at the European and national level. Furthermore, WP3 will also produce local level policy responses on how to live in the current regulatory environment. Overall, the purpose is to improve the capacity of law and policy to facilitate the sustainability transition of the transport and mobility system in a way that is just for those living and doing business in the Arctic.

WP4 Management, interaction and dissemination (Similä, Suopajärvi, Huttunen, Tuominen, NN):

WP4 takes care of the administrative and managerial duties of the project. It also coordinates the scientific collaboration and activities in the project as well as ensures internal communication and interaction.