On Friday May 13^th, US President Barack Obama and leaders from Nordic countries visiting Washington DC agreed to apply strict environmental standards and climate change goals to commercial activities undertaken in the Arctic.

Leaders from the countries outlined their priorities in a joint statement.

The agreement will have implications for a wide range of activities, including natural resource exploration and exploitation, tourism, and maritime transport activities.

This statement follows closely after similar commitments to respecting the Arctic environment that President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made during a bilateral meeting in Washington in March.