How a warming Arctic connects to the rise of populism in the US and Europe

“We have given up collective thinking,” says a Swedish historian, chiding Norway and Russia for unhealthy pursuit of Arctic fossil fuels. “Now it is all about saving one's self.”

If you live in the Arctic or deal regularly with Arctic issues as I do, you have most likely wondered about this: Why is it that the climate crisis, which seems to call for urgent and stringent international efforts, is met by what seems to be the exact opposite: Still more nationalist and populist movements, governments and presidents who evade or actively undermine the international accords and initiatives so urgently called for in the struggle against global warming?