On Ever Thinner Ice: Reducing Black Carbon Demands Urgent Action

Tipping points highlight urgency to reduce Arctic black carbon

As the climate crisis worsens and multiple tipping points warn of irreversible runaway changes, reducing the impact of black carbon on the Arctic has emerged as an urgent global priority. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) must act now to contribute to efforts to slow down and reverse the Arctic region’s rapid meltdown that is accelerating global climate warming. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe, driven in part by increasing black carbon (soot) emissions from shipping. The Arctic meltdown and interconnected impacts from pollution and biodiversity loss have profound implications for global weather patterns, ecosystems and sea level rise, as well as for the Indigenous Peoples and wildlife living in the Arctic.

In July of 2025, Pacific Environment published “On Thin Ice: Why black carbon demands urgent action,” a report that makes the case for requiring ships operating in and near the Arctic to use “polar fuels” such as cleaner distillate fuels that produce less black carbon. This report — “On ever thinner ice” — updates developments since then, which include:

• IMO deliberations are underway on an Arctic polar fuel requirement introduced by Denmark, France, Germany and the Solomon Islands.
• Climate tipping points are alarmingly closer or exceeded.
• Sea ice loss is accelerating and weakening the marine food chain for fish, marine mammals and whales, newly-published research shows.
• Ice losses on land and in seas around the Arctic portend major sea level rise and disruption of major ocean circulation currents.
• Black carbon emissions from shipping are increasing and have been underestimated.
• The International Court of Justice climate decision requires action to prevent climate harm.

These developments reinforce the urgency and legal necessity for IMO member states to act expeditiously to reduce climate harm in the Arctic caused by black carbon emissions from shipping. 

Action needed

Protecting the Arctic from black carbon emissions from ships requires IMO member states to enact a mandatory amendment to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) requiring the use of cleaner marine fuels in the wider Arctic. When the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 85) meets in November 2026, it must address the pending issue of defining the sea area where a polar fuels measure will be most effective. When MEPC’s Pollution Prevention and Response 14 Sub-Committee (PPR 14) meets in January 2027, it must act to protect the Arctic by recommending a mandatory switch from residual fuels to polar fuels such as cleaner distillate MGO for ships operating in the wider Arctic, to take effect as soon as possible. MEPC 86, meeting in October 2027, must then act on PPR 14’s recommendations and adopt a mandatory polar fuels requirement for ships operating in the wider Arctic.