Carmignac Photojournalism Award 2017

The Arctic is a region surrounding the North Pole, within and on the outskirts of the Arctic polar circle. The area is commonly delineated by the ’10 degrees Celsius isotherm’, defining territories where the average temperature of the hottest month does not exceed 10 degrees Celsius. It is made up of 6 countries: Canada, the United States, Greenland (Denmark), Russia, Norway and Iceland.

At the heart of the Cold War, the Arctic region was as a hot point for international interests, but since 1990, the region has largely disappeared from these debates. From the middle of the 2000s, it has attracted attention for three principle reasons: the disappearance of the sea ice, the growing need for hydrocarbons, and the prospect of new maritime routes.

Since 1979, the sea ice has decreased in volume by 50%. The pollution and the medium-term prospect of its total disappearance in the summer months may be devastating for environmental equilibrium and Indigenous peoples, but it also provides opportunities by creating new maritime routes for commercial traffic, and opens up possibilities for the exploitation of natural resources. Beyond the fascination and curiosity surrounding the Poles due to their remoteness and the extreme conditions that reign there, global warming has put a sharp focus on these areas as strategic battlegrounds in the clash between the competing interests of countries and multinationals s as they face one of the biggest challenges in the history of mankind.

This edition will support an investigative photojournalism project that will shine a light on these competing interests, and highlight what the consequences of climate change will have on the region.