WHY DO WE NEED TO PROTECT THE ARCTIC OCEAN?

Our Survival

• 7.8 billion people and 8.7 million species of plants and animals depend on the Arctic Ocean for weather that protects not only our homes, but our food and water supplies, global immunity, economic balance, social stability, and world peace.
• The Arctic Ocean’s ice is 0.2% as thick as that of Antarctica, which has been protected by a treaty since 1962. No treaty currently protects the Arctic Ocean.
• 95% of the Arctic Ocean’s oldest ice, a necessary reflector for the sun’s heat, is gone.

Our Future Under Attack

• Commercial ships break up the remaining ice and their emissions darken it, accelerating the melt.
• Shipping on the Arctic Northern Sea Route is up 430% in just 3 years.
• 41% of all 2019 Arctic Ocean ship traffic was for commercial fishing, including seabed-damaging trawls.
• Over 300 Arctic Ocean cruises and tourist expeditions were offered on travel websites last spring and summer.

Our Ticking Timebombs

• Scientists warn that all Arctic oil and gas must stay in the ground to keep global warming under 2C. But drilling continues, which risks emitting 148 trillion kg of CO2.
• As Arctic permafrost melts, 60 billion tons of methane (80 times more powerful than CO2 in the short term) are at risk of release.
• In permafrost, viruses frozen for 30,000 years and bacteria frozen for over 1 million years are still infectious.
• Scientists estimate a large-scale methane release could result in up to $60 trillion US in damage to the global economy.

Our Unthinkable War

• The world’s nuclear superpowers are armed and active in the Arctic Ocean, where a nuclear conflict could destroy the ecosystem—and us—for good.
• 40 new ships in 2021 were added to the Russian Navy alone.

Our Full Circle

• Arctic High Seas protection is no protection, as it is where the least exploitation happens. Our survival requires MAPS.
• By halting Arctic Ocean oil and gas use, and through its unprecedented global education strategy, MAPS compels an end to carbon emissions to stop the melt and keep our world breathing.

Find out more about the scientific support for MAPS: read the Scientists’ Open Letter.