Replied by Prerna Gandhi, Associate Fellow, VIF
The United States by virtue of Alaska is an Arctic country. Russia, on the other hand, covers almost half of the latitudinal circle with 1/5th of Russia's landmass north of the Arctic Circle. Both are members of the Arctic Council, the foremost political body managing the Arctic Circle. With global warming and opening up of Arctic sea routes, there has been a renewed focus on the Arctic with both countries seeking to secure their political, security, economic, and other interests in the region. The Ukraine-Russia war and the breakdown in European security architecture has further prompted the Arctic to emerge as a new theatre for confrontation between Russia and NATO (5 of the 8 Arctic Council countries are NATO members). Both US and Russia have articulated their Hydrogen strategies in 2020 and are at early stages in their realization. Alaska, with existing oil and gas infrastructure is well placed to take off into blue hydrogen, but currently there is no mention of any project officially.