Arctic Frontiers conference: “The Arctic is losing its protective shield”

The Arctic ice is melting faster than expected. Experts are debating the consequences at a conference in Tromsö, Norway. In an interview, marine biologist Boetius explains why the situation is not hopeless.

tagesschau.de: The conference is about how climate change is changing the Arctic. What are the effects?

Antje Boetius: They’re quite dramatic, that’s what everyone here says. Whether it is the Association of Arctic Mayors, whether it is the representatives of the indigenous peoples, whether science or politics – everyone agrees: no other region on earth faces such challenges, because global warming is progressing three to four times over here as fast as the rest of the planet.

And you notice that when there is ice and snow, extreme weather or the question of the chances of the younger generation. The question is: How do you deal with the fact that this crisis can be seen everywhere and affects everyone?

13 percent less sea ice per decade

tagesschau.de: What does it mean when sea ice recedes?

Boetius: It’s easy to see from space what planet Earth is like arctic shield loses. This white surface cools our planet. And we have the double crisis right now: Not only is the Arctic sea ice disappearing at 13 percent per decade – which means we are the first generation that is likely to experience an ice-free summer in the Arctic. But if you look at the Antarctic, you will see that the sea ice there has been shrinking enormously for the past five years. And of course that is worrying.

And then there are the ice sheets of Greenland: the ice masses there increase sea level rise and this affects the whole world. Of the eight billion people on the planet, half live near coasts, often without dikes. And ice mass losses are increasing and increasing, so we have to correct for sea level rise as well. That means the Arctic isn’t just some distant place where something weird happens that doesn’t concern us. It concerns everyone, it concerns the whole world, what happens here.

solutions and adjustments

tagesschau.de: If this white protective shield is reduced – will our whole earth warm up much faster than expected?

Boetius: We can simulate and predict these changes quite well. But there are also aspects of the rate of ice loss that are difficult to predict, or the effect on oceans and human life. We try everything to follow up as research, to constantly draw attention to how much knowledge it takes to make better predictions. That’s what we set out to do. But of course there are also solutions and adjustments, and these are discussed here.

tagesschau.de: What solutions would there be?

Boetius: Solution number one remains the rapid exit from fossil fuels. This is also a big issue here. This is also recognized in the arctic region. But of course much of our wealth comes from gas and oil. Energy prices and profits are at an all-time high from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

And at the same time, everyone who is here is trying to restructure and try to clarify how that works. And how to adapt the infrastructure to the fact that there is no longer any solid ground because it used to be frozen and is now melting. Or because there is really enormous extreme weather. So it’s also about customization here.

“It is not too late”

tagesschau.de: How big is the will to adapt?

Boetius: Not only research and politics are represented here, but also business and NGOs. Everyone collects what is actually needed, and the result is always: It only works with international cooperation. And even if the numbers are terrible: It’s not too late to take action. It just has to be fast, it has to be clear and it only works in cooperation.

This is a very important message that is also set here. Because the Arctic region is an area with a unique diversity of life. Some things cannot be reversed and that is the loss of species. And that is why not only climate protection, but also nature conservation plays a very important role here.

Difficulties due to Russia exclusion

tagesschau.de: At the same time, maybe some industrialized nations aren’t unhappy when the ice melts? The path to raw materials could become easier. There could be new trade routes and it might even be possible to find fishing grounds that were previously covered by a thick layer of ice.

Boetius: This is a daring hypothesis when you hear from business how difficult it is to even plan these sea routes with thinning, rapidly drifting and shifting ice. There is nobody here who feels like a winner from climate change. So far, cooperation in the Arctic has not only focused on endless yield. For the first time, the Arctic Council succeeded in protecting fishing grounds above a certain water depth.

Even under very strict safety precautions, only seafaring is possible here. And it is still about how the cooperation can succeed. Unfortunately, one has to say: in the absence of Russia. Because the sanctions, which everyone decided together, mean that there is currently no cooperation and therefore unfortunately no coordination with Russia.

Research plays a big role

tagesschau.de: How difficult is it to come to an agreement if Russia – a key Arctic country – cannot go along with it?

Boetius: There is a great deal of debate here about the fact that this necessary, but costly decision for all of us is throwing the Arctic region back. Russia is currently chairman of the Arctic Council – but the format has been suspended. The other countries do not participate, as a very clear stance against aggressive war. But it costs, precisely because the climate crisis is such a big global problem that before the war it was inconceivable that cooperation would weaken at all. She should have gotten stronger and now she’s significantly weaker.

This means that the other countries must work together more closely. And that’s what this is about. All presentations indicate that completely new forms of cooperation are being sought in the region around the Arctic. And I’m glad that research plays a major role. Germany’s decision to build the “Polarstern 2” is mentioned here again and again. This is an essential contribution to international cooperation. And that’s what it’s all about here: How can we become stronger when we’ve become weaker somewhere without Russia?

tagesschau.de: The “Polarstern 2” is the new German research ship. Why is it so important in scientific cooperation?

Boetius: The “Polarstern 2” is the successor ship to the “Polarstern” and is still a concept ship, which is currently being advertised in Europe. It’s a ship that allows us to survey the Arctic deep sea floor and find out how incredibly diverse this habitat is. Up to now it has not been possible to dive under the ice so well. Now there are robots on board that can do that. And that’s why we’re gaining completely new insights, such as which areas of the Arctic are particularly sensitive. Where is there a unique diversity of life that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet? And we contribute this knowledge. For future spatial planning, for the future concern to protect the Arctic.

Hope through new forms of cooperation

tagesschau.de: If you, as a marine biologist, are now following this conference, are you in good spirits?

Boetius: Yes, because the commitment to cooperation is heard everywhere here. And there are new forms of cooperation – like the Conference of Arctic Mayors. Representatives of the indigenous peoples are also very clear about how they want to get involved in order to contribute their knowledge of how to deal with nature, which is thousands of years old.

That gives hope, because this jolt is going through the community: We humans can plan, we can act strategically, we don’t have to be the destroyers. I admit I’m a basic optimist, the data and numbers are tough. And you have to be honest: We have to find solutions for the extreme weather situations that affect all countries around the Arctic and much further away. In the end, Greenland is also crucial for Polynesia, that’s how bad the sea level rise is. And this new sense of global interconnectedness must be reflected in political action.