As climate change accelerates, the once distant and frozen Arctic is transforming into a controversial industrial frontier. Nowhere is this tension clearer than along Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR). This emerging shipping corridor, running along Russia’s 6,000-kilometer Arctic coastline, is being touted by the Kremlin as a lucrative shortcut between Europe and Asia. But as we illustrate in our new report, the rush to exploit this fragile environment threatens to turn the Arctic into another zone of sacrifice — one where delicate ecosystems are collateral damage in the hunt for hydrocarbons and geopolitical influence. The Arctic is in a vicious cycle where the melting sea ice that makes the NSR more accessible jeopardizes the region’s unique biodiversity and climate stability. Russia’s ambitions to transform this route into a major trade artery — and to ramp up oil and gas extraction along its coastline — risk compoundi
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