Introduction
This note has been developed to support the 2025 UN Ocean Conference preparatory meeting, to be held at UN Headquarters in New York July 2, 2024. The theme of the 2025 Conference, “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean” will be realized through particular attention and consideration to the Arctic and its Peoples, and explicit inclusion in the proposed Ocean Action Panels. To that end, this note highlights the primary issues addressed by the Clean Arctic Alliance (CAA) and the critical linkages between the Arctic, shipping, ocean health and biodiversity, and mitigating the climate crisis.
Background
As summer sea ice recedes due to climate warming, Arctic waters are becoming increasingly navigable to shipping. Reduced sea ice is opening up access to Arctic resources, while interest in shorter shipping routes through the Arctic is growing. Recent Arctic Council studies of ship activity in the Arctic has shown an increase of 37 percent between 2013 and 2023 and a 111 percent increase in total distance traveled over the same time period. Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), black carbon (BC) and methane (CH4) from fossil based fuels used by ships including heavy fuel oils (HFOs) and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) are entering the atmosphere at a rapid rate causing local and global warming. Pollution from ships such as oil spills, underwater radiated noise, and scrubber wastewater are following the same trend and can significantly impact Arctic ocean health.
The Arctic plays an essential role in regulating the global climate. Changes in the Arctic influence weather, ocean currents, and sea levels worldwide. The Arctic is warming 4 times the rate of the planet as a whole and will be a crucial region to avoid crossing important tipping points for the planet. The interconnectedness of Arctic and global ocean health underscores the urgent need for international cooperation and action. Action to safeguard the Arctic is critical now more than ever.
As the UN Secretary General articulated in his background note to the July 2nd meeting, ‘The ocean is in a state of emergency as increasing eutrophication, acidification, ocean warming, deoxygenation and plastic pollution worsen its health.
The Clean Arctic Alliance (CAA) recognizes this critical moment for the Arctic which is a uniquely vulnerable ecosystem that plays a critical role in global climate regulation and is home to communities and Indigenous Peoples that rely on healthy marine resources for food security and livelihoods. Justice and equity are key pillars in supporting these communities, and preventing economic and social hardship and dislocations must be central to any path forward.
In this context it is important that UNOC3 leads the way for holistic and integrated delivery of action for all the SDGs pertaining to global ocean health focusing on urgent action that will deliver SDGs ahead of 2030. It will be essential to lay out the necessary action to be taken year by year to 2030 – and not defer to vague commitments for action at some point in the future. Pathways for delivering commitments, for example, a 50% reduction in climate impacts by 2030, the 30 x 30 target, and protection of blue carbon pathways and sinks, etc should be elaborated. It will also be important to identify and integrate sectoral approaches, requirements and identify responsible bodies, so that co-benefits can be prioritised and easy wins secured quickly, allowing time and resources to be directed towards outcomes that will require greater collaborative efforts and more time. It is possible that the Arctic Ocean might now see the first blue ocean event as soon as the 2030s – protection of the polar regions must be central to all efforts to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.
CAA Policy Positions
CAA continues to seek urgent action to provide protection of the Arctic, its wildlife and its people, through:
(i) mandatory reductions in short-lived climate forcing black carbon emissions from shipping both regionally in the Arctic and from further afield which impact the Arctic;
(ii) urgent, short-term energy efficiency measures and increased use of wind power to reduce CO2 emissions from international shipping,
(iii) increased awareness of the unintended consequence – increased methane emissions – of transitioning to alternative fossil fuels such as liquified natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, enforcing that it is not an alternative for shipping’s decarbonization and black carbon reduction pathway which must limit the market uptake of LNG in the Arctic;
(iv) implementation of measures to ban the use and carriage of heavy fuel oils in the Arctic and prohibit the use of scrubbers and discharge of scrubber effluents (preventing the continued use of dirtier fuels) in the Arctic; and to reduce underwater noise through slow steaming and energy efficiency approaches with co-benefits of reducing climate emissions and ship strikes.
- Black Carbon Emissions
Problem: Black carbon, produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels in ship engines, accelerates ice melt when deposited on snow and ice, exacerbating climate change. It is 20% of the shipping sector’s global climate impact and is 5 times more potent when released in the Arctic. Reducing its emissions can reverse habitat loss, maintain food security for communities, and contribute to reaching climate targets.
Action: An immediate switching away from HFO to cleaner distillate fuels (e.g. DMA, DMZ) to reduce black carbon emissions from ships and installation of diesel particulate filters. Cleaner alternatives to HFO like distillate marine fuel have been shown to reduce black carbon between 50-80%.
Link to Ocean Health: Reducing black carbon emissions helps slow Arctic ice melt which is essential for regulating global climate and maintaining healthy communities and Indigenous food security.
Link to proposed Ocean Action Panels: Tackling marine pollution in all of its forms; Leveraging ocean-climate-biodiversity interlinkages; Enabling sustainable ocean-based economies that leave no one behind; Promoting sustainable food production from the ocean to address food
security.
- Climate Change Mitigation
Problem: The Arctic is warming at 4 times the global average, with significant impacts on ice cover, sea levels, and marine ecosystems.
Action: Paris aligned global and local greenhouse gas emissions reductions without transitioning to alternative fossil fuels such as liquified natural gas (LNG) which simply replaces reductions in CO2 and BC emissions with increased methane emissions.
Link to Ocean Health: Mitigating Arctic warming supports global climate stability, essential for ocean health and marine species survival.
Link to proposed Ocean Action Panels: Leveraging ocean-climate-biodiversity interlinkages; Enabling sustainable ocean-based economies that leave no one behind; Promoting sustainable food production from the ocean to address food
security.
- Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) Ban
Problem: HFO is the world’s dirtiest and most hazardous marine fuel. It is a dense and polluting fuel which if accidentally spilled can persist in the marine environment for many months, threatening sensitive coastal areas and food security. It is challenging if not impossible to clean up and can cause long-term damage to marine life and coastal communities.
Action: The CAA advocates for a complete ban on the use and carriage for use of HFO by ships operating in the Arctic. The area of application should be extended and aAll ships should implement the ban, without exemptions, when it comes into effect on July 1 2024.
Link to Ocean Health: Banning HFO reduces the risk of catastrophic oil spills, protecting Arctic marine habitats, food security for Indigenous Peoples, and contributing to overall ocean health.
Link to proposed Ocean Action Panels: Tackling marine pollution in all of its forms; Leveraging ocean-climate-biodiversity interlinkages; Enabling sustainable ocean-based economies that leave no one behind; Promoting sustainable food production from the ocean to address food
security.
- Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) Pollution
Problem: URN from shipping disrupts the communication and navigation of marine life, and interferes with reproduction and foraging for food. Ships have been identified as the top contributor of URN globally and can play a major role in quieting our oceans.
Action: Develop mandatory measures at the IMO to reduce URN from ships, alongside implementing quieter ship technologies and better routing measures to minimize noise pollution. Noise management plans for ships along with noise budgets for marine areas and thresholds for all ship types should be put in place. Speed reduction and implementation of efficiency measures should be prioritized due to the co-benefits of reduced emissions and reduced risk to marine mammals.
Link to Ocean Health: Reducing noise pollution helps preserve marine mammal populations and their ecosystems, thereby enhancing biodiversity.
Link to proposed Ocean Action Panels: Tackling marine pollution in all of its forms; Leveraging ocean-climate-biodiversity interlinkages; Enabling sustainable ocean-based economies that leave no one behind; Promoting sustainable food production from the ocean to address food
security.
- Scrubber Wastewater Pollution
The Problem: Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems, known as scrubbers, are used by ships to remove sulphur oxides from engine exhaust. A byproduct of this process is harmful washwater which is discharged into the ocean. In effect this scrubbing process turns air pollution into ocean pollution on a ship and releases harmful toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the ocean environment.
Action: A total ban on the discharge of open and closed looped scrubber wastewater, along with the mandatory use of distillate fuel which would negate the use of scrubbers in the first place.
Link to ocean Health: Direct pollution discharges from a ship contribute to ocean acidification, changes in salinity, hypoxia, and eutrophication (nutrient loading).
Link to proposed Ocean Action Panels: Tackling marine pollution in all of its forms; Leveraging ocean-climate-biodiversity interlinkages; Enabling sustainable ocean-based economies that leave no one behind; Promoting sustainable food production from the ocean to address food
security.
Conclusion
Addressing the risks and challenges posed by shipping in the Arctic is imperative for the Arctic, biodiversity and global ocean health. The Clean Arctic Alliance urges the UN Ocean Conference to prioritize these issues and support international efforts for a cleaner, healthier Arctic and to prioritise the connections between Arctic shipping and ocean health to be included in the proposed Ocean Action Panels.
