The Arctic Ocean is in crisis, with accelerating sea ice loss threatening global biodiversity, climate stability, and Indigenous livelihoods. While climate engineering technologies, specifically sea ice geoengineering (i.e., technologies designed to manipulate the region’s albedo and thermal energy) are increasingly proposed to restore ice, the current legal framework is fragmented and lacks a single international regulation governing these interventions. It remains uncertain how these technologies might impact complex marine ecosystems or exacerbate social inequalities. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new governance frameworks to ensure that any potential deployment of sea ice geoengineering addresses biodiversity loss without creating new environmental or social injustices.
