Of half a dozen territorial disputes in the region, the biggest is probably between the United States and Canada, over the status of the north-west passage.

ECONOMIST: The melting north | The

Meanwhile a country such as Panama would prefer a cooler world in which ice continues to seal off the North-West Passage and to prevent competition with its canal.

ECONOMIST: Global warming

So too is the hope that the North-East Passage above Russia, also known as the Northern Sea Route (NSR), as well as the North-West Passage from the Atlantic over the top of North America, will become navigable for several months each summer.

ECONOMIST: Banyan