Alessandro Antonello is Associate Professor of Environmental History at the University of Tasmania, Australia. He is the author of The Greening of Antarctica: Assembling an International Environment (Oxford University Press, 2019).

Who Is Protecting Antarctica’s Environment?

Neumayer Channel in the Antarctic Peninsula, January 2020. Antarctica's ice and its biological communities face grave, systemic threats from global climate change. Photo: Alessandro Antonello
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (third from right, seated) on his way to the Base General Bernardo O'Higgins in Antarctica, where he witnessed first-hand the deadly impacts of the climate crisis, 23 November 2023. UN Photo/Mark Garten
In 2023, Secretary-General António Guterres visited Antarctica to witness the impacts of the climate crisis, 22 November 2023. UN Photo/Mark Garten

The Antarctic Treaty System, in place since 1961, is principally dedicated to the environmental threats that arise locally, including those from fishing, tourism and scientific research.