The Arctic is warming three to four times faster than the global average, and black carbon pollution from maritime shipping is accelerating the crisis. Black carbon — a short-lived but extremely potent climate pollutant with a warming impact up to 1,500 times greater than CO₂ — darkens snow and ice, reducing their ability to reflect sunlight. This triggers a feedback loop of melting, rising sea levels and destabilized global weather patterns, leading to more intense and frequent extreme events like heat waves, floods and storms. In the Arctic, this pollution also threatens public health and food security, particularly for Indigenous and coastal communities.
Despite over a decade of scientific analysis and discussions at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), black carbon emissions from Arctic shipping remain unregulated, with only non-binding guidance in place. Our latest report, On thin ice: Why black carbon demands urgent action, presents a clear and urgent call for IMO member states to require vessels operating in and near the Arctic to switch to cleaner “polar fuels” — such as marine distillates DMA and DMZ — to rapidly cut emissions, protect vulnerable ecosystems and safeguard communities.
Read the full report to learn why black carbon regulation is one of the fastest, most impactful steps we can take to slow Arctic warming.
