We Can’t Plant Ice!
Make your voice heard. Support a 10-Year Moratorium to protect the Central Arctic Ocean. Join us in calling for an immediate precautionary pause on all harmful exploitation of our Earth’s vital ice shield.
Polar ice is Going Extinct On Our Watch!
Polar ice is melting at an unprecedented rate – Arctic summer ice may be gone in just 10 years. A 10-year (extendable ) Moratorium on exploitation in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) provides an opportunity to protect one of the last unique, pristine, irreplaceable biomes. Arctic dwellers, especially Arctic Indigenous Peoples, have relied on and stewarded this ecosystem for millennia. It is now under threat of commercial exploitation which brings significant risks to this little understood area.
“We know more about the moon than what is under the ice – protect it before we lose it!” says Dr Sylvia Earle, one of the world’s most renowned oceanographers.
The CAO ice shields us from the sun’s heat, moderates global temperature and acts like a planetary heart, regulating oceanic and atmospheric circulation and supporting global ecosystems. We are in reality all ice-dependent species. It serves us all therefore to bring the ice crisis to the top of the global agenda. The science backed proposed Moratorium for at least 10years is an opportunity for inclusive multilateral action to prevent harm before it starts.
You will be adding your voice to those of top scientists, oceanographers, policy makers, Indigenous leaders, law-makers, spiritual leaders, next-gen and visionary business leaders who are supporting our call for a precautionary pause in the CAO on:
- Fossil fuel exploitation
- Deep sea mining
- Transpolar shipping
- Seismic surveys and testing
- Unregulated geoengineering
- Unregulated mass tourism
- Dumping of radioactive waste
Stand with us, become an Ice Defender and join the Arctic Ice Force to safeguard our planet!
SIGN THE PETITION
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Stronger Together
We won’t achieve this alone, collaboration is key to success and the core ethos of how we operate. Join the hundreds already backing this call, and add your voice as an individual or organization. If you would like to have ongoing engagement join our Central Arctic Ocean Moratorium Coalition. Please help us spread the message.
We are building on the success of:
- Eight years of leadership and collaboration in designing and promoting a 10-year extendable moratorium
- A precedent-setting legal text crafted by experts that recognises Indigenous rights and the Rights of Nature
- The Arctic Angels: a unique network of young women climate leaders in 38 countries, calling for the safeguarding of their future.
Why it Matters
Despite the Central Arctic seeming remote, science tells us it is the apex of a vital planetary system. We are already seeing the consequences of losing the Earth’s Ice Shield: extreme weather, droughts, a warming ocean, heat waves, extreme weather floods, lives and livelihoods lost, Indigenous cultures imperiled, impacts on nature and mounting economic costs, especially in agriculture and insurance.
Growing threats – As global emissions continue to rise — we continue to lose Arctic ice at an exponential rate. As the ice retreats the CAO is becoming accessible and countries and commercial interests are lining up to exploit newly exposed resources. This may have short term economic gain but the science is clear – it comes at a devastating long term cost to planetary wellbeing.
Here’s the interesting thing: The Central Arctic Ocean is ‘high seas’ and an Area Beyond National Jurisdiction. We can all be stewards of this Global Commons and stand up for Arctic dwellers and climate justice compels us to also speak up for those most impacted globally. We must do this for the good of our and future generations
Don’t just take our word for it — hear why leading experts are calling for a 10-year Moratorium:
Dr. Sylvia Earle, World-Leading Oceanographer and Global Choices Patron
“Let’s just hit pause — a 10 year moratorium is a pretty good place to start.”
Johan Rockström, World-Leading Systems Scientist and Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
“The Arctic is warming three times faster than the rest of the planet.”
Baroness Patricia Scotland, First Female Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
“Every person, community, species and nation depends on Arctic ice.”
Tiago Pitta e Cunha, International Expert on Ocean Governance and Chief Executive Director, Oceano Azul Foundation
“If we lose the Arctic, we lose the world — count on us as a partner in your work.”
Paul Polman, Co -founder and Chair Emeritus of IMAGINE; Chair of the B Team and Vice-Chair, UN Global Compact
“A 10-year pause in the Central Arctic isn’t anti-business — it’s pro-stability. No company thrives in a broken system.”
Xiye Bastida, Otomi Indigenous Climate Activist and Arctic Angel; Co-Founder and Executive Director, Re-Earth Initiative
“The most radically imaginative things world leaders can do, which doesn’t take that much effort, is leave the ocean alone and protect the Arctic, protect keystone species for future generations.”
Bill McKibben, Award-Winning Environmentalist and Author; Founder of 350.org and Third Act
“It doesn’t matter if you live far from the Arctic: As the Arctic melts, it’s coming to you. We need you to be a part of the fight.”
Prof. Dr. Jemilah Mahmoud, Executive Director Sunway Centre for Planetary Health; Under Sec. Gen. at the IFRC, Founder Mercy Malaysia.
“We need to do all we can to protect the Central Arctic Ocean Ice Shield. Global Choices’s proposal for a 10 year minimum precautionary pause on harm of the ice is a critical policy all health practitioners need to get behind.”
