Antarctica is under Threat despite Historic Agreements

By Adnan Tazvir

The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959. All the world leaders agreed to keep the continent free from war, weapons and nuclear waste.  But Antarctica is now under threat due to climate change.

The Antarctic Treaty stated that the region would not be under the control of any single country.  Instead, scientists from all over the world will work together to conduct scientific research there, and world leaders have agreed to keep the region a “natural reserve for peace and science.”

The treaty also banned the exploration of natural resources in Antarctica in 1976. That is why for a long time, Antarctica was able to retain its characteristics.

But due to climate change, Antarctica’s ice has begun to melt. World leaders have pledged to keep temperatures below two degrees Celsius this century as signed by Paris Agreement. However, a German research firm, Climate Action Tracker, fears that temperatures could rise by up to three degrees Celsius due to the policy being adopted and implemented.

A report in the Nature (journal)  in May 2021 said that if global temperatures rose by three degrees, Antarctica’s ice melting rate would increase sharply, and sea levels would rise at the same rate.

Alessandro Antonello, a historian at Flinders University in Australia, has written a book on the environmental politics of Antarctica.

He says that the countries that have signed the Antarctic Treaty, the United States and Germany, the world’s biggest polluters, are also among them. China, India and Brazil, which have recently been added to the list of polluters, are also in the deal. He called it a kind of ‘hypocrisy’.