The Central Arctic Ocean is a global treasure requiring international protection. Its sea ice-dominated ecosystems regulate global temperatures, stabilize the jet stream, and create remarkable marine productivity from plankton blooms and ice algae to fish, birds and marine mammals. Its connections to Arctic coastal seas means it is relied upon by Arctic Indigenous peoples and coastal communities for food, cultural continuity, and economic opportunity.
The Arctic is warming four times faster than other parts of the planet, shrinking summer sea ice, setting off cascading changes to Arctic wildlife, creating great uncertainty for people living in the Arctic, and increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme weather events further south.
At this moment of greatest risk, the Central Arctic Ocean faces additional challenges from new industrial activities. These include transpolar shipping, which would bring large vessels through these waters to connect non-Arctic manufactured goods and bulk materials to distant markets, as well as deep sea mining — an untried method of strip mining metals from sea floors, continental crusts, and hydrothermal vents. Almost no consideration has taken place regarding how such activities could be done safely and without damaging the Central Arctic Ocean.
As organizations and individuals who care deeply about the climate risks already impacting or threatening the Arctic, we urge immediate action to protect the Central Arctic Ocean:
We call upon nations to take action to negotiate an agreement that protects the ecosystems of the Central Arctic Ocean, places a moratorium on deep sea mineral development and transpolar shipping in the Central Arctic Ocean, and affirms the role Arctic Indigenous peoples and knowledge should play in managing the Central Arctic Ocean.
We ask all companies, including those in manufacturing, shipping, finance, and other related industries, to avoid impacting this ecosystem through shipping or deep-sea mining in the Central Arctic Ocean.
