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Protect Antarctica — or risk accelerating planetary meltdown

To keep Earth habitable, humanity must recognize the value of Antarctica and seek to save it from irreversible damage.
By
  1. Ida Kubiszewski

    1. Ida Kubiszewski is an associate professor at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London, London, UK.

  2. Robert Costanza

    1. Robert Costanza is a professor at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London, London, UK.

  3. Elizabeth A. Fulton

    1. Elizabeth A. Fulton is a chief research scientist at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

  4. Matt A. King

    1. Matt A. King is a professor in the School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences and the director of The Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

  5. Elizabeth Leane

    1. Elizabeth Leane is a professor in the School of Humanities, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia.

  6. Natalie Stoeckl

    1. Natalie Stoeckl is a professor in the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

An ice floe with a group of penguins on it in front of Paulet Island, Antarctica.

As the ice retreats, Antarctic species are struggling to reproduce, feed and compete with invasive species. Credit: Ida Kubiszewski

Far from being a remote, isolated continent, Antarctica is integral to Earth’s climate and life-support systems. Its vast ice sheet stores more than 90% of the planet’s surface fresh water and influences sea levels, circulation of the atmosphere and how much sunlight the planet reflects. Around Antarctica, the Southern Ocean acts as the lungs of the deep sea, accounting for roughly 40% of the global ocean’s uptake of carbon dioxide emissions generated by human activities, shaping how seawater mixes and distributes nutrients to support marine life around the globe1.

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Nature 644, 605-607 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02618-3

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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