Conference in Australia
The ice is melting faster and faster – and the Antarctic Commission is stalling
The Antarctic Commission is coming under increasing pressure because it has had little success for years. Meanwhile, climate change is causing more and more problems in the polar region.
© imagebroker / Imago Images
Antarctica’s sea ice is melting. Not only emperor penguins and whales are in danger, but the entire planet. The Antarctic Commission is supposed to find solutions – but has been at a dead end for years.
Antarctic sea ice is melting faster and faster
“This year, the Southern Ocean experienced record low sea ice levels and previously unimaginably high temperatures, as well as the deaths of an estimated 9,000 emperor penguin chicks due to sea ice loss,” said expert Andrea Kavanagh of the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project. The rate of change in Antarctica is alarming, “but what is even more alarming is that CCAMLR has taken no action to combat climate change in the last decade.”
One of the main issues is once again the designation of three major Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in East Antarctica, the Weddell Sea and the waters of the Antarctic Peninsula. Because of resistance from Russia and China, a breakthrough has always failed – most recently in June at a special CCAMLR meeting on the topic in Santiago de Chile. All CCAMLR decisions must be made unanimously by the 27 member states, including Germany.
Antarctic Commission can hardly demonstrate success
“MPAs will not stop climate change, but they will help make the ecosystem more resilient,” Kavanagh emphasized. It is high time for the CCAMLR to get out of its “dead end”. The Antarctic Commission is coming under increasing pressure because it has had little success for years. The last significant measure was taken in 2016 with the agreement of the Ross Sea Protected Area, a marginal sea in the Southern Ocean. Since then, the climate and biodiversity crisis has worsened, warned the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC).
“Remote Experiences”
From Antarctica to the steppe – unique journeys through forgotten worlds
Stricter requirements for krill fishing are also on the agenda. The tiny crustaceans are caught en masse to make oil and fish feed – but they are extremely important for the fragile Antarctic ecosystem with animals such as whales and penguins. “In connection with the climate crisis, krill fishing is causing the entire Antarctic ecosystem to falter and with it the climate stability of our planet,” emphasized Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Federal Managing Director of German Environmental Aid (DUH).