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The Arctic resources race refers to the competition between global entities for newly available natural resources of the Arctic. Under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, five nations have the legal right to exploit the Arctic's natural resources within their exclusive economic zones: Canada, Russia, Denmark, Norway, and the United States.
In the early 21st century, controversies about the Arctic region and its resources created greater potential for conflicts between nations that have long had conflicting territorial claims and differing opinions of how to manage the area. The Arctic region is also home to an estimated 400,000 indigenous people. If the ice continues to melt at the current rate, then these indigenous people are at risk of being displaced. The acceleration of ice depletion will contribute to climate change as a whole: melting ice releases methane, ice reflects incoming solar radiation, and without it will cause the ocean to absorb more radiation , heating up the water causing more ocean acidification, and melting ice will cause a rise in sea level.