We Can't Plant Ice!
To the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and all Member States of the EU
Petition
The Arctic is melting much faster than predicted. And as the ice recedes, states' and corporations' interests are circling to exploit the frozen ocean. They see opportunity. We see catastrophe.
We call on you to urgently:
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Declare a 10-year moratorium on all exploitation, including fossil fuel exploitation, deep sea mining, transpolar shipping, seismic surveys and testing, unregulated geoengineering, unregulated mass tourism and dumping of radioactive waste in the Central Arctic Ocean.
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Recognise how vital this global commons is for the regulation of Earth’s climate system and honour your obligation under international law to protect it.
No drilling. No dumping. No exploitation.
This is not a frontier to be conquered, it's a tipping point we cannot afford to cross. We demand immediate action to safeguard the Central Arctic Ocean for all life on Earth.
Why is this important?
The Arctic’s central ice cap is vanishing. [1]
And as it melts, fossil fuel companies and geopolitical powers are racing to carve it up — drilling, mining, shipping, and fishing in a place that has remained untouched for millennia. [2]
But the Arctic isn’t just another place on the map. It reflects sunlight, regulates global weather, and helps stabilise the sea level, preventing catastrophic rises. When the ice goes, so does climate stability. Dozens of countries and millions of people are already suffering the consequences around the world, including Arctic Indigenous Peoples, who have relied on and stewarded these ecosystems for hundreds of years. [3]
However, despite knowing how crucial it is, right now there is limited protection of the Central Arctic Ocean and its unique biome, with too many loopholes allowing it to be further exploited. We protected the Antarctic decades ago. [4] Now, it's time to do the same in the North.
A 10-year moratorium would buy time — for science, for diplomacy, and for life. [5] It’s a clear line in the ice: this far, no further.
We must treat the Central Arctic Ocean and all the life it sustains as the fragile, global treasure it is, not a free-for-all for polluters. Let’s freeze the exploitation before it’s too late.
Sign now and say it clearly and loudly:
Protect the Central Arctic Ocean because WE CAN'T PLANT ICE!
References:
[1] https://marine.copernicus.eu/ocean-climate-portal/arctic-sea-ice-extent
[2] https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-race-for-the-melting-arctic/
[3] https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-4-sea-level-rise-and-implications-for-low-lying-islands-coasts-and-communities/
[4] https://www.bas.ac.uk/about/antarctica/the-antarctic-treaty/the-antarctic-treaty-explained/
[5] https://globalchoices.org/caois-moratorium-why-it-matters/