Climate activists in South Africa are protesting the refueling stoppage of a Russian ship that they say is ignoring a ban on exploring for oil and gas in Antarctica.
Protest organizers Greenpeace Africa and Extinction Rebellion say seismic tests the Alexander Karpinsky Academy has been taking place in Antarctica for the last 25 years are detrimental to marine life such as dolphins and whales.
They also say that fossil fuels should stay underground if the world wants to prevent catastrophic global warming.
The ship’s operator, the Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition, a subsidiary of Russian state mineral explorer RosGeo, insists it is not exploring for oil and gas in Antarctica, but simply doing research.
South African environmental lawyer Cormac Cullinan is not convinced, saying it is vital that everyone sees the importance of combating global warming.
“It’s incredibly important from a climate change perspective because the oceans absorb a lot of CO2 from the atmosphere, but it’s also part of regulating the global climate and also the currents and the weather system. But it’s also very affected by climate change because the ice is melting,” he said.
Cormac says it is problematic that there is no government for Antarctica, but rather an agreement signed in the 1950s, called the Antarctic Treaty System, where 29 countries have decision-making powers.
“Decisions are made by consensus and in recent years, when they have tried to declare more marine protected areas, countries like Russia and China block them, so it’s not really going anywhere,” he said.
It says that the terms of the treaty are only binding on the people who signed them. And he says that police compliance is almost impossible because there is no international police force dedicated to this task.
“If there is a big enough dispute, it could be referred to the International Court of Justice. But in a situation like this, often countries don’t take on another country like Russia because they think Russia can retaliate in other ways,” he said.
Cullinan is working on an Antarctic Bill of Rights that environmentalists hope will be released by the end of this year or early 2024. He says, among other things, that they hope it will make it possible for lawyers to represent Antarctica in court. of Justice. .
“Certainly, if you think about the importance of human rights in the world. Although you know that governments violate rights all the time, just the fact that we have agreed standards of behaviour.
He says a similar bill of rights for nature is in the works for the Amazon rainforest that spans several countries.
Meanwhile, in Cape Town, Greenpeace Africa volunteer Elaine Mills says her organization is working on a demand letter to send to the government.
“The one is that Alexander Karpinsky and other vessels like this are not allowed to enter South Africa. The second is that the Alexander Karpinsky and similar ships must demonstrate that they are engaged in genuine scientific research before being allowed into our ports. The third is that we want the parties to adopt a treaty that will never allow the extraction of hydrocarbons within the Antarctic region,” said Mills.
Contacted by VOA, the South African Ministry and Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment provided no comment.
South Africa announced on Tuesday that it will host representatives of its BRICS partners, namely Russia, China, India and Brazil, in Limpopo province on Wednesday and Thursday.
Naval exercises with Russia and China are also planned for February, a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
