| By Danielle Bochove In a bid to slow the northern resource rush, the United Nations’ ocean advocate is calling for Arctic nations to spearhead creation of a new treaty that would halt economic activity in the central Arctic Ocean until the impact can be properly studied. Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, called for creation of a treaty at this year’s Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland. It would cover an area at the top of the planet roughly the size of the Mediterranean Sea. The treaty would apply to waters that lie beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone of each of the nations with Arctic coastline. Countries from the US and Russia to China have already begun scrambling to stake their claims in the Arctic. With ice-free summers likely in the next decade, activities like deep sea mining and shipping are only likely to increase, as is competition. That raises the risk of an ecological disaster in the fragile region.  The US Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy on a research cruise in the Chukchi Sea. Photographer: Devin Powell/NOAA “I’m genuinely concerned that the activities of a single country, or company, could cause irreparable harm to the region before governance is in place to prevent it,” Thomson said. “Therefore a multilateral effort is needed to ensure new activities do not start without adequate research and an appropriate governance structure.” But multilateralism is under pressure — itself a running theme at the conference, which drew more than 2,000 participants from 70 countries. The world’s shipping regulator postponed a landmark charge on shipping emissions after facing US pressure last week. That decision, coupled with the recent collapse of UN talks for a plastics treaty, and diminishing hopes for next month’s climate talks in Brazil, are signs that global momentum for environmental initiatives is waning. In an interview after his address, though, Thomson said support for the treaty concept was “very positive” among the policymakers he approached at the conference for support. He highlighted the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement as a blueprint for success. That treaty, which bans signatories from commercial fishing in the region for 16 years, was ratified by all coastal Arctic and non-Arctic countries, including heavy-hitters like China and the EU. Pausing activity would allow researchers to study the environmental impacts and risks of economic development before global warming opens the region enough to make such activity possible, said Susanna Fuller, vice president of conservation and projects at Oceans North, a conservation group working with Thomson to support the treaty idea. The High Seas Treaty, which has been ratified by more than 70 countries, comes into effect in a few months and is meant to protect ocean biodiversity. But because neither the US nor Russia has ratified it, it’s unlikely to lead to a Marine Protected Area in the central Arctic Ocean, Fuller said. A narrower solution led by Arctic nations that invites other countries to join would be easier to achieve, Oceans North believes. “We have an opportunity for precautionary forward thinking, which is so rare,” Fuller said. NATO members should boost their spending on renewable power and low-carbon energy to end their dependence on Russian oil and gas imports, according to a group of military veterans and defense experts. The European Union paid almost €22 billion ($25.5 billion) last year for fossil fuel imports from Russia, more than the €19 billion it gave Ukraine in financial support, the group said in a letter to European heads of government ahead of their meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The EU’s spending on Russian gas imports since February amounts to 75% of Russia’s military budget last year, they wrote. “While the EU has pledged to stop Russian oil and gas imports by the end of 2027, progress isn’t being made quickly enough,” the group said. “Whether imported from Russia or elsewhere, a reliance on fossil fuels makes our countries less secure.” Read the full story.  Soldiers walk through the British Army’s first solar farm. Photographer: Ian Forsyth/Bloomberg The world’s biggest wealth fund is reviewing its bond portfolio to assess which issuers are most at risk from the fallout of extreme weather. A marine heat wave off Florida in 2023 killed so many Acropora corals that two species are now “functionally extinct,” scientists have found. The Arctic Wildlife Refuge is open for drilling, with a lease sale coming this winter, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The Biden administration had put the pristine 1.56 million-acre stretch of tundra off limits. Many oil companies have been reluctant to target the area, given the high costs. Environmentalists and native Alaskans argue oil development in the region risks imperiling arctic foxes, polar bears and caribou. In more Trump and oil news, the administration is taking advantage of low oil prices and buying 1 million barrels to start refilling the nation’s depleted emergency crude supply. The Energy Department announced Tuesday that it plans to buy oil for delivery in December and January, calling it “an important step in strengthening our energy security.” Trump slapped sanctions on Russian oil. (Yes, there’s a theme today.) The US blacklisted Russian oil giants Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC in an effort to cut off revenue Russia needs for its war in Ukraine. The European Union also piled additional pressure on the Kremlin with a new package of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure. In the wake of the sanctions, oil posted its biggest one-day gain in more than four months. The EU’s corporate greenhouse gas regulations are in the crosshairs of both the Trump administration and the Qatari government, according to Politico. The law, which went into effect last year but still needs to be adopted by EU members, requires companies doing business in the bloc identify and address their environmental impacts. In a letter, the Energy Department and Qatar expressed “deep concern” about the directive. | 
