{"id":2883,"date":"2025-04-12T01:54:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T23:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/?p=2883"},"modified":"2025-04-13T19:02:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T17:02:03","slug":"environmentalists-demand-real-transparency-in-arctic-ecosystem-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/2025\/04\/12\/environmentalists-demand-real-transparency-in-arctic-ecosystem-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmentalists demand \u2018real transparency\u2019 in Arctic ecosystem issues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

‘We very seldom see real transparency \u2026 There are always things that are hidden. There is always information that is not shown,’ says Oddekalv<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Credits:
Credits: Anadolu Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

– ‘The explosion itself creates a lot of gases and spreads a lot of chemicals and environmental poison to the air, and they will cover the ground around the ocean and the atmosphere,’ says environmentalist Ruben Oddekalv<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– ‘Local fishermen and their livelihoods in the area, there\u2019s probably going to be an impact, because the quality of seafood probably deteriorates over time,’ researcher Patrick Schroder tells Anadolu<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The head of a Norwegian environmental organization says the aftermath of a German rocket crash at Norway\u2019s northern Andoya Spaceport lacked transparency and left many questions unanswered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spectrum rocket, developed by German company Isar Aerospace, crashed just seconds after liftoff from the Andoya Spaceport on March 30, drawing backlash from local fishermen and politicians. Despite this, the company described the mission as a \u201csuccess,\u201d claiming the situation was under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Ruben Oddekalv, head of the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature (NMF), disagrees \u2014 arguing that key details have been withheld and that calling the launch a success is misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f ‘We very seldom see real transparency \u2026 There are always things that are hidden. There is always information that is not shown’

\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f ‘The explosion itself creates a lot of gases and spreads a lot of chemicals and environmental poison to the air, and they will cover the ground\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/8Ho4rI7LLq<\/a>\u2014 Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) April 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe very seldom see real transparency \u2026 There are always things that are hidden. There is always information that is not shown,\u201d Oddekalv told Anadolu, stressing that companies often downplay the real consequences of such incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo yes, we had a little spill of debris. We had a little spill of lubricants and stuff. But it\u2019s not that bad. But in reality, very often we see that the reality is worse than what is painted to the picture,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rocket pollution threatens ocean, air<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Oddekalv voiced alarm over both the immediate and long-term environmental impact of the crash \u2014 particularly the chemicals released into the air during the explosion and the debris that scattered into the nearby ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a lot of stuff you don\u2019t want in nature. The explosion itself creates a lot of gases and spreads a lot of chemicals and environmental poison to the air, and they will cover the ground around the ocean and the atmosphere,\u201d he said, warning that airborne pollutants eventually return to Earth, harming people and ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oddekalv isn\u2019t alone in his concerns. Patrick Schroder, senior research fellow in the Environment and Society Programme at Chatham House, also highlighted the dangers of rocket emissions \u2014 especially at high altitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey inject black carbon, basically soot, nitrous oxides and other pollutants in the stratosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cThis has broader impacts on the climate and ozone,\u201d referring to the atmospheric layer that shields Earth from the sun\u2019s harmful ultraviolet rays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oddekalv was particularly \u201canxious\u201d over a report that estimating that roughly 30% of lubricant-contaminated crash debris remains in the ocean after the crash. He warned this poses a threat to fisheries, as the chemicals could accumulate in seafood over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLocal fishermen and their livelihoods in the area, there\u2019s probably going to be an impact, because the quality of seafood probably deteriorates over time. So, that\u2019s the trade-off between having a space port in that area versus local communities who might not directly benefit from this,\u201d Schroder added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fragile Arctic ecosystem at greater risk<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Oddekalv emphasized that the Andoya Spaceport\u2019s location in the Arctic makes the environmental consequences of such incidents even more severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very vulnerable area because it\u2019s so high north, so everything is more vulnerable to pollution,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schroder echoed this, pointing out that the Arctic ecosystem is especially slow to recover from environmental disruption. \u201cAny kind of impact takes longer time for ecosystems to recover,\u201d he said, underlining that climate change has particular impacts on Arctic regions as warming is a lot faster than other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even successful launches bring pollution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Oddekalv warned that upcoming operations by the space company \u2014 even if they avoid crashes \u2014 could still harm the environment due to the combustion of large volumes of jet fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have the big burning of jet fuel in one location, which is problematic in itself, because it creates a lot of steam, a lot of burn-offs, which goes into the ocean and into the atmosphere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schroder also flagged the long-term problem of space junk, noting that debris from rocket launches eventually re-enters Earth\u2019s atmosphere and burns up \u2014 releasing pollutants and further degrading the ozone layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given these persistent risks, both experts underscored the importance of closely monitoring spaceport operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to take a closer look in the longer run to see if it changes the environment because there are a lot of sensitive fisheries, there is a lot of sensitive bird activity in the area, and it needs to be monitored to see if it\u2019s creating any damage or changes,\u201d Oddekalv said. \u201cAnd if it\u2019s so, they need to stop it, which very seldom happens because there\u2019s a lot of money involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulatory gaps leave environment exposed<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Schroder emphasized that current environmental and space-related regulations are insufficient to address the growing risks posed by the commercial space sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an area which is quite under-regulated,\u201d he said, pointing to a \u201creal gap\u201d in both environmental and space law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that while some monitoring efforts are underway, they are often limited in scope or still in the early stages. \u201cThere\u2019s currently the Montreal Protocol. That is the UN-level treaty to phase out ozone depleting substances. It covers various industries \u2026 but it doesn\u2019t cover rocket launchers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schroder also cited the European Space Agency\u2019s \u201cZero Debris Charter,\u201d which has attracted around 100 signatories \u2014 including private companies and governments \u2014 who have pledged to take action on space debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not necessarily a law or regulation. It\u2019s basically actors committing to something. There\u2019s no penalty if they don\u2019t, but they\u2019re making a commitment that they want to do a better job. So, you can mitigate some of these problems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Efforts are also underway to develop a circular space economy, which would promote the reuse of decommissioned satellites and reduce the frequency of rocket launches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schroder pointed to other legal gaps, such as the outdated nature of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was designed primarily for state actors. He argued that it should be updated to cover today\u2019s commercial and private space enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are policies around extended producer responsibility. So, the companies who are putting certain types of products on the market, they\u2019re then also responsible financially to deal with the end-of-life issues,\u201d Schroder added, suggesting that such policies could also be applied to waste management in the space industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We very seldom see real transparency \u2026 There are always things that are hidden. There is always information that is not shown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2886,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2883\/revisions\/2886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}