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Executive Summary for January 19th

We review and analyze the latest news and most important developments in the Arctic, including a Norwegian lawsuit over oil exploration in the Arctic, conservation groups and indigenous leaders fighting a copper mine in Norway, and the world’s oceans becoming increasingly warmer.

Published on Jan. 19, 2016 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Lawsuit Against Norway Over Arctic Oil

Norwegian lawyers are preparing a climate lawsuit against the country over its oil exploration in the Arctic, reports the Independent Barents Observer.

According to one of the legal experts quoted in the story, the Norwegian constitution compels the government to commit to policies that do not harm the planet for future generations. The group of lawyers contends that Arctic oil drilling contradicts that commitment.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the new climate change agreement reached in Paris last year, where countries agreed to lower their greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to keep the increase in global temperatures well below 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels. But the plans put forward by countries are widely considered not to be enough to keep warming in check.

A Statistics Norway report found greenhouse gas emissions from the Norwegian territory totaled 53.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, a 0.8 percent decrease from 2013. However, emissions are still above 1990 levels.

Norway’s 23rd licensing round received applications on 57 blocks or portions of blocks from 26 oil and gas companies. The new exploration areas are located in the Norwegian and Barents seas, including a newly opened area in the southeastern Barents Sea. The new licenses will be awarded before summer 2016.

Saami Leaders, Conservation Groups Fight Coastal Dumping of Mining Waste

A proposed copper mine in Norway’s far north is facing new opposition from conservation groups and Saami leaders who say that mining activity in the region will have a major impact on reindeer herding, the Arctic Journal reported.

An impact assessment by the NORUT Northern Research Institute says the mine’s infrastructure and activities will lead to the loss of pastures and calving ground for the local reindeer-herding community.

According to the article, the Saami Council believes the mine cannot go ahead without agreement from the local community.

Conservation groups and Saami leaders have previously criticized the mine’s plan to put mine tailings into coastal waters. They worry such dumping will do irreversible damage to the ecosystem. The mining firm Nussir argues the ecosystem will recover, according to the article.

World’s Oceans Warming Faster and Faster

The world’s oceans are warming faster than ever, with half of the increase in temperature occurring in the past 20 years, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change.

Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have found that the oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the additional heat and almost 30 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels, the Guardian reported.

Most of the added heat is trapped in the upper 700 meters (2,300 feet) of the ocean, the Associated Press reported. The oceans are deep and cold and help temper air temperatures by absorbing the excess heat. But the warmer the oceans become, the less heat they can absorb, meaning the heat stays in the air.

Peter Gleckler, the paper’s lead author, found the results “concerning.” The oceans are taking up a lot of heat and many of the ecological implications remain unknown, he said.

The study used ocean-observing data from a British research ship that set sail in the 1870s and a network of 3,000 high-tech monitors that dot the world’s oceans.

The increase in the oceans’ heat uptake coincides with a slowing of the pace of temperature increases on the Earth’s surface, according to a Reuters article. The Carbon Brief adds that there is still more work to be done to understand if the heat the oceans have taken up in the past two decades can account for the observed slowdown in surface warming.

Warmer oceans are associated with increased storm activity, and can force some species out of their traditional ranges.

Recommended Reading

Top image: Conservation groups and Saami leaders say reindeer herding will be disrupted if a copper mine goes ahead in northeastern Norway. (Pixabay/KRiemer)

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