Oil pollution and black carbon in the Arctic

Abstract

Chapter 20 explores the management of increased shipping activities in the Arctic Ocean, which is changing dramatically due to regional warming and declines in the extent and thickness of sea ice. Increased shipping, which has been made possible by climate change, poses new threats to Arctic Ocean ecosystems, including the growing danger of accidental spillage of fuel oil and emissions of black carbonitself a contributor to climate change into the atmosphere. In response to these threats, traditional state-based governance approaches, notably in the context of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), are being supplemented by newer forms of transnational governance that involve nongovernmental and corporate actors. This combination of traditional approaches to marine environmental governance with newer innovative approaches can serve as an example for governing other marine environments affected by global change. The chapter advocates innovative governance involving nonstate actors in the region, which in turn can stimulate traditional state-oriented institutions to bring their resources to bear on addressing the impacts of global environmental change.