Kuklina, Vera

The cryosphere is rapidly transforming due to climate change, with a shortening ice season, thawing permafrost, and glacial retreat becoming increasingly prevalent. These changes contribute to "Arctic amplification," causing the region to warm four times faster than the rest of the world. Ice has historically been a key indicator of climate change, and the Earth is becoming less 'frozen.' The cryosphere is critical for global climate stability and human populations. Rockstrom et al. (2024) recently identified the Arctic Cryosphere as a planetary commons, spanning national and supranational boundaries. Unlike conventional global commons, the Arctic has been populated for millenia, particularly by Indigenous Peoples. We urgently call for treating Arctic ice, snow, and permafrost as a critical planetary commons – a collectively governed common pool resource important at the planetary scale. Sustaining these frozen commons requires engagement from diverse actors and diverse ways of knowing at local, regional, national, and global levels, extending beyond nation-to-nation decision-making. Building on experience from Interior Alaska and northern Mongolia, this presentation highlights the importance of the concept of frozen commons for current discussions about sustainability and resilience of complex systems. We argue that bringing perspectives, amplifying voices, and elevating ethics of care for human and non-human relations in historically marginalized communities, such as Indigenous Peoples and nomadic herders in decision making and planning efforts is necessary to address climate change in a just and equitable way.