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RUSSIA DECLARES A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN THE ARCTIC
We wanted to celebrate World Environment Day, instead we are reeling from the news of the disastrous spill of 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil from the Norilsk Nickel owned plant, into a river in Arctic Siberia.
According to WWF Russia, this huge spill, akin to Exxon Valdez, will cause significant harm to the fragile Arctic environment for at least the next 10 years.
"This throws into sharp relief the urgency and importance of our Hands Off campaign for better protection and governance of the Polar regions. These are vital Global Commons and a critical regulator of climate. We as Global Citizens must make Global Choices to protect them." - Inge Relph, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Global Choices
We call for HANDS OFF! Add your voice.
OUR VISION is to achieve a consciousness in action that we are one humanity, dependent on the Global Commons, the interdependent natural systems crucial to all life.
Our mission is to be a spearpoint, inspiring and driving a new way of thinking of ourselves as Global Citizens, using collective intelligence to make strategic choices to protect and restore the Global Commons, prioritizing the Arctic and Antarctic.
We cannot plant ice.
Why - once it's gone, it's gone
The Global Commons are the rightful heritage of all and as such we are all stakeholders in our planet’s future. We depend on the oceans and the forests for the oxygen we breathe and the Poles act as the Earth’s thermostats but are warming at twice the global average. They need our immediate protection because what happens there affects the Earth’s climate stability and biodiversity, impacting entire planetary ecosystems. We need to take responsibility for their protection.
There is an upsurge of environmental action but little focus on prioritization. – trees can be planted in perpetuity, plastic removed from supply chains, but the ice is melting and cannot be replaced.
At risk are 4 million Arctic dwellers and generations of Indigenous wisdom and 600+million people around the globe living in coastal areas.
We still have time to take remedial and regenerative action but it requires urgent, informed and prioritized choices.
"The greatest threat to our Planet is the belief that someone else will save it"
Robert Swan OBE
The first person in history to walk to both the North and South Poles
Creating Impact
This requires that we reposition the concept of the Global Commons from the abstract to a deeper recognition that these systems materially affect us and future generations.
We will only make real change through innovation and smart action by building ecosystems of inter-generational collaboration and partnerships with fresh thinkers.
Our Arctic Angels are self- selected young leaders whom we mentor and empower. As voices for their generation they drive multi media engagement to raise awareness and press for protection of the Arctic and Antarctic.
