Climate change in the Arctic will have further considerable impacts on Arctic states, societies and peoples concerning environment, political and socio-cultural conditions and human security. An important aspect of the expected increase of extractive industries of natural resources in the region will be the possibility of new shipping routes in the Polar Sea that according to the estimates of e.g. the National Snow and Ice Data Center at Colorado University will be seasonally ice free well before 2050 and probably within the next decades. This will be attractive for Asian countries with a high level of shipping activities to and from Europe and North America and other commercial interests. The increase in polar shipping, however, will also generate a significantly higher level of risks and significantly deteriorate human security, a situation that cannot help to pose considerable multilevel governance challenges for communities in the Arctic region, especially for Denmark/Greenland, both locally, nationally and regionally. Locally, the burden of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations will outdo Greenlandic capabilities. Nationally, the security policy implications of increased shipping will create tensions with Denmark on Greenland’s self government setup and sovereignty ambitions. Regionally, the Arctic Council needs to transform itself from a debate forum into a strong international organisation making legally binding decisions. This will be the case with or without the success of Asian states’ applications for ‘permanent observer’ status in the Arctic Council. Thus, thorough studies of governance implications of new shipping routes as a result of climate change is highly needed as well as cooperation for sustainable development in the Arctic. In addition, the paper will compare Asian and Arctic forms of governance, traditional ways of living and values.