The questions posed to speakers and panelists in the seminar was whether a 'green growth' opportunity exists for the Arctic, or whether the region shall remain largely a source of natural resources for the rest of the world. Nearly all welcomed the concept as a way to move discussion beyond the framework of sustainable development and were cautiously optimistic about finding opportunities. The freshness of the idea of green growth was demonstrated by the variety of responses - clean energy sources, models of community living and intellectual capacity itself were all seen as ways that the North can contribute more than just resources. Taking advantage of these opportunities was seen by many as the biggest challenge, however.

The current chair of the Arctic Council, Sweden's Gustaf Lind, embraced the concept of green growth and thanked the University of the Arctic for raising it. He announced that green growth will be taken up in the agenda of Sweden's chairmanship

Where available, the speeches and addresses from the Seminar will be made available at the UArctic 10 Years web pages, including those of President Grímsson and Hannele Pokka.  The University of the Arctic will follow up the successful seminar with a publication based on its content later in the year.