Global greenhouse gas emissions continue in stark contrast to the emissions reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Indeed, planetary warming has accelerated so much that many scientists warn that key components of the earth’s system are approaching “tipping points” that will trigger additional climate feedback loops that further fuel and exacerbate climate disruption if they are exceeded.

This article, by Sharon Guynup, originally appeared on Mongabay.

Walruses have traversed the Arctic for millennia, gregarious pinnipeds that rest en masse on drifting pack ice, diving to feed on crabs, clams and other seafloor delicacies. Icy platforms also serve as safe birthing and nursery grounds. But as the far north rapidly warms and sea ice disappears, some herds now huddle on overcrowded shorelines, with deadly consequences for young calves: Because more disturbances occur on shore than at sea, calves are regularly trampled during panicked stampedes by the 1-ton-plus adults.

Progress—and Room for Improvement—in UNEP’s Annual Report (United Nations Environment Programme)

How effective is the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s work on the fight against climate change? Its Annual Report analyzed the work it has done over the past year to do so. The UNEP supports key areas in which progress has been made, including waste reduction through the Global Framework on Chemicals and global instrument on plastic pollution, biodiversity protection efforts through various frameworks, and loss and damage mobilization through COP28.

From Afghanistan, Nepal, and Libya to the Arctic, the new issue of Environment and Security takes a fresh look at emerging issues at the intersection of environment and security. Ashok Swain, Editor in Chief of Environment and Security, spotlights some of the new research and insights in this Q&A with ECSP staff.

Q:  The new issue of Environment and Security features an article on Arctic governance, including a close examination of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code). How do the authors assess this regulatory instrument as it enters its 10th year since adoption?

This article, by Sharon Guynup, originally appeared on Mongabay.

In August, I traveled aboard the icebreaker Kinfish to the Svalbard archipelago, north of the Arctic Circle. Invited to the bridge as we cruised fjords near the 80^th parallel, I was transfixed by towering blue glacier walls, but was confused by the map displayed on one of the ship’s screens. It showed our vessel sailing across a non-navigable frozen sheet.

The Arctic is ground zero for climate change. Warming in the region is occurring at three times the rate of the global average and September Arctic sea-ice is now declining at a rate of 13 percent per decade. However, the reverse is also true. The complex changes taking place in the Arctic are having profound effects on the rest of the world, and major economies are taking note. 

When the United States purchased Alaska from Russia, Americans considered the “frozen wasteland” to be a reckless, wasteful acquisition. What could ice possibly offer? 

In fact, polar ice is a critical resource for the Earth. The summer and fall of 2020 marked the lowest sea ice extent ever recorded in the Arctic Ocean, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says contemporary September sea ice extents are so low that they are unprecedented in at least 1,000 years. Moreover, collapses in the ice shelves of West Antarctica, Canada, and Greenland raised concerns in 2020. The immediate effects of climate change in the polar regions are merely the tip of the iceberg—ultimately, they have profound effects on climate and communities around the world.

Truth, trust, and transparency are key aspects to sound and sustainable governance of the Arctic, said Ulf Sverdrup, Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. He was one of a panel of experts who spoke on Nov. 30 at “The Arctic in a Post-Election World,” the first event in a two-part series sponsored by the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute.