Under the Arctic Ice: Climate Futurism, Inuit Sovereignty, and Deep Seabed Mining in the Just Transition

Abstract

Abstract The Indigenous peoples of the Circumpolar North were the first to experi-ence the impacts of climate change, where the pace and scale of change has posed an existential threat to their way of life. For developed nations, the recession and thinning of the sea ice has increased the prospect of re-source exploitation, in turn igniting questions about sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean and its seabed. This article examines the implications of the extended continental shelf claims of the Arctic coastal States for the future governance of the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) and Inuit sovereignty. Part I advances a theoretical approach to the topic of deep seabed mining through the lens of climate futurism. Part II provides a critique of the Unit-ed Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, followed by a look at the re-gional governance of the CAO and the role of Inuit in circumpolar politics. Part III considers the prevailing regimes for deep seabed mining within and beyond national jurisdictions and their potential application to the CAO. Part IV concludes by evaluating potential arrangements for the governance of deep seabed mining in the Arctic, including a regional treaty or a poly-centric approach composed of specialized regimes.