An Ice Free Arctic Ocean in 20 Years?

A top news story this week is that in approximately ten years as much as 80% of the Arctic Ocean could be ice free, and that within twenty years the remaining ice could breakup during the summer. That is not to say that the predictions are that there will be no ice at all, but that the solid sheet of ice cover we are used to seeing will disappear.

I am aware that there are those who are claiming that this will not happen, and selectively quoting reports that ice in the Arctic Ocean has shown signs of growth over the last couple of years. However what they will fail to mention is that this is what we call “new ice” – ice that forms and melts each year. It does not have the thickness, and therefore the longevity, of the multiyear or “old ice” that does last over the summer months and reflects heat away from the earth, and in doing so help to regulate the earth’s temperature.

Once that old ice is gone the Arctic Ocean will act like every other ocean on the planet and begin to soak up heat from the sun, and this has the potential to have a profound effect on global weather patterns.

Later this month I will be in Stockholm, Sweden, speaking on climate change on behalf of Inuit at the 4th European Development Days (EDD).

EDD is an annual event organised by the European Commission and the country holding the Presidency of the European Union. There will be several thousand delegates attending the event, including the heads of states from many countries. Coming as close as it does to COP15 this presents a unique opportunity to put forward Inuit concerns to the international community and I welcome the opportunity to do so.

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