Marathon Pundit: Iceland prime minister says global warming would be good for nation

Whether human-caused global warming is real or not isn't up for discussion this time on this blog. But I want to report that the prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, is looking at the upside of higher temperatures.

From Iceland Review:

The prime minister told RÚV that the results of the [UN global warming] report were ambiguous and that Iceland still had the chance to respond to climate change. He referred to Laurence C. Smith’s The World in 2050 which predicts that eight Nordic countries and regions will prosper as a result of climate change.

Sigmundur pointed to the opportunities for oil and gas exploration and the opening up of shipping lanes as a result of the melting of ice in the Arctic. A shortage of land and water in other countries as well as the rising costs of energy and food could bring opportunities for Iceland as a food producer, Sigmundur added.