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The Arctic is gaining global attention as melting ice unlocks access to vast natural resources. From “ecosystem services” like climate regulation to lucrative mineral and oil reserves, this chilly region’s economic value is surprisingly large.
In this graphic, we break down the Arctic’s annual economic value based on the results of a 2017 study from Tanya O’Garra titled Economic Value of Ecosystem Services, Minerals, and Oil in a Melting Arctic.
How in the world does it make sense to count antiproduction regulations as an economic value, especially when they're never found to materially impact the climate outcomes they were designed for?
Is that the amount of fundraising done by climate fearmongers?
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I’m not really sure what you mean. What they’re saying is:
Arctic ecosystems regulate the climate through carbon storage and the albedo effect (reflecting sunlight)
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For climate regulation, the study assessed the Arctic’s role in carbon sequestration and its impact on global climate systems, assigning value based on the cost of carbon emissions and the benefits of climate stabilization.
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Climate regulation services benefit local, national Arctic and international communities via the stabilization of the climate, which impacts growing seasons, species distributions, flooding, droughts and so forth (IPCC, 2007). In fact, a large proportion of the associated final services from climate regulation (see Section 4) accrue to communities outside of the Arctic region. Thus, although climate regulation contributes to the production of some of the final services included in this study, a large part involves benefits to the rest of the world. For this reason, climate regulation is included in this study; however, to avoid double-counting it has been assumed that climate regulation is partially accounted for in the value of the following final goods: food (subsistence harvest and commercial fisheries), polar bear hunting, and the existence value of reindeer herding, beluga whales and polar bears. For more details, see Supplementary Material.
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The economic value of climate regulation services provided by the Arctic sea-ice and permafrost surpasses all other values by up to three orders of magnitude. This is because these services are global in nature; the entire planet depends on the climate regulation services provided by the Arctic. In absolute terms, this figure is vast – although distributed over the entire world population, it only amounts to about $30 per capita per year, substantially less than the per capita benefits of subsistence hunting and cultural benefits enjoyed by local populations.
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Thank you for the clarification.
I'm familiar with the term, but I'm just more accustomed to political regulation being associated with the arctic and that's where my mind went. This makes much more sense, although I'm not totally sure what counterfactual they're comparing it to.
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I wonder the same thing, literally speaking bullshit is worth much more.
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1007 sats \ 0 replies \ @guerratotal 15h
The Arctic is a perfect example of the tragic paradox of modern economics: the more we destroy, the more “value” we unlock—at least on paper. While melting ice may grant access to oil, gas, and new shipping lanes, the long-term cost in lost climate regulation, biodiversity, and rising sea levels is immeasurable. Ecosystem services aren’t just optional extras—they’re the foundation of everything else. Exploiting the Arctic might look like economic growth, but in reality, it’s a form of liquidation.
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These people are on crack, leave the nature alone or it will come back and bite ya the way you will never forget it (quakes, floods, meteors, etc.) We suppose to live in harmony with Nature, not try to improve it or block the sun for whatever BS reason....
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