A coalition of nations and environmental groups is lobbying the International Maritime Organization to create regulations around black carbon, or soot, that spews from ships and blankets parts of glaciers and snow.

Between 2013 and 2023, the number of ships entering waters north of the 60th parallel increased by 37%, according to the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum made up of the eight countries with territory in the Arctic. In that same period, the total distance traversed by ships in the Arctic increased 111%.