The Arctic Highlights Our Failure to Act in a Rapidly Changing World

Abstract

In this perspective on the future of the Arctic, we explore actions taken to mitigate warming and adapt to change since the Paris agreement on the temperature threshold that should not be exceeded in order to avoid dangerous interference with the climate system. Although 5 years may seem too short a time for implementation of major interventions, it actually is a considerable time span given the urgency at which we must act if we want to avoid crossing the 1.5 to <2 °C global warming threshold. Actions required include co-production of research exploring possible futures; supporting Indigenous rights holders’ and stakeholders’ discourse on desired futures; monitoring Arctic change; funding strategic, regional adaptation; and, deep decarbonization through transformation of the energy system coupled with negative carbon emissions. We are now in the decisive decade concerning the future we leave behind for the next generations. The Arctic’s future depends on global action, and in turn, the Arctic plays a critical role in the global future.

Review of participation of Indigenous peoples in plastics pollution governance

“…Some of these reference postcontract treaties held between settler and Indigenous nations (e.g., Chisholm Hatfield, 2019;Shadaan and Murphy, 2020), which are designed as binding legal contracts (though these are rarely upheld) while others specifically refer to the UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, designed to be "an international legally binding instrument" with a provision for "The best available science, traditional knowledge, knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems" (United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme, 2021-22, pp. 1 and 3; also see Adeola, 2000;Schlosser et al, 2022).…”

“…Another common framing of youth participation in plastics governance and initiatives was in terms of training and education. One researcher wrote that "education should begin with children and youth as they will in turn teach adults in their communities" (McGregor, 2010, p. 76;also see McGregor, 2015;BC Gov News, 2022;Schlosser et al, 2022). These points were rarely as well integrated as discussions of gender minorities or elders.…”

Shaping Tomorrow’s Arctic

“…Schlosser et al [12] and Bodansky and Pomerance [13] argue that while most people in the world outside the Arctic do not realize it, their current and future livelihoods and circumstances are now vulnerable to an increasingly forceful and erratic warming Arctic. "The unraveling of the Arctic is bad enough for the Arctic itself, but it will have enormous consequences for the entire planet since the Arctic is a crucial component of the global climate system" [13].…”

“…Both papers argue for aggressive action. As Schlosser et al [12] put it "We are now in the decisive decade concerning the future we leave behind for the next generations. The Arctic's future depends on global action, and in turn, the Arctic plays a critical role in the global future".…”

“…The Arctic's future depends on global action, and in turn, the Arctic plays a critical role in the global future". Schlosser et al [12] focus on the critical need for investment in scaling up carbon capture and sequestration in order to reduce the rate and magnitude of warming.…”