Implications of the use of liquefied natural gas for marine transportation in the Arctic

The transition from the use of bunker fuel to the use of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the Arctic marine transportation has various consequences. The author is interested to present the issue in the political, economic, environmental, marine legal perspectives. Implementing the regime efficiency and niche selection approach as well as the Environmental Kuznets Curve the paper demonstrates potential benign interdependence of the Arctic countries after they have transferred their vessels to LNG. In such circumstances, Norway, Canada and the US are shown as the most benefiting nations. The second part of the article is devoted to the significant environmental improvement after the transition with a particular attention to the dramatic decrease of black carbon (soot) which leads to increase of albedo. Finally, the paper examines the existing legal provisions regulating the transition to LNG and modulates a further development scenario based on the theory of the lifecycle of a norm.