Le prix Carmignac du photojournalisme est une initiative soutenue par la Fondation Carmignac.
The Arctic Region
The Report
Exhibitions
Publication
Jury
Partners of the Award
9° Edition
Arctic : A New Frontier
A double polar expedition: in 2017, Yuri Kozyrev and Kadir van Lohuizen explored over 15,000 kilometers the effects of climate change on this territory, as well as their consequences for the rest of the planet.
The Arctic is the region surrounding the North Pole, within and on the outskirts of the Arctic polar circle (66°33’N). The area is commonly delineated by the Köppen line, the isotherm line which includes the territories where the average temperature of the hottest month does not exceed 10°C (50°F). Six states are concerned: the United States, Canada, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway and Russia.
Although a strategic point for international interests during the Cold War, the Arctic region largely disappeared from global conversations and media scrutiny during the 1990s. Yet, since the mid-2000s, it has attracted attention again for three reasons: the disappearance of the ice pack, the growing demand for hydrocarbons, and the prospect of the opening of new maritime routes.
Since 1979, sea ice volume has decreased by 50%. Pollution and its medium-term total disappearance during the summer months may be devastating for the environmental equilibrium and native peoples. Though, global warming 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 extreme conditions, these regions now are strategic battlegrounds where the interests of countries and of transnational firms
are due to compete.
"The melting of the polar sea ice is changing the map of the world forever. By visiting all the affected regions and countries in one expedition and by showing how the different parties — starting with Russia and the US — are working to conquer the North Pole, we will reveal how the impact of climate change in the Arctic is of global significance for the rest of the world."
Yuri Kozyrev and Kadir van Lohuizen
For the very first time, two photojournalists have simultaneously covered the irreversible changes that have taken place in the Arctic, to bear witness to the effects of the melting of the ice-caps.
Together, they formed a spectacular but disturbing picture of the profound climatic, economic, political and human changes that are affecting the North Pole and the six countries with territories located in the Arctic.
Cape Kamenny, Yamal Peninsula, Russia, May 2018.
Every other day on average, the icebreaker Baltika supports the mooring and loading operations of tankers at Gazprom Neft’s “Arctic Gate” terminal in Gulf of Ob. The terminal was built 700 km away from the existing pipeline infrastructure, so Yamal gaz, oil and condensates are shipped by sea for the first time in the history of Russia’s energy industry.
"The photos of Yuri Kozyrev and Kadir van Lohuizen are superb. Through them, from Siberia, Svalbard and Greenland to Canada and Alaska, we discover the Arctic of today, with its landscapes and wildlife that are drawing a growing number of tourists, as well as its populations who are exposed to extreme climates and who mine resources such as nickel and, increasingly, gas, oil and coal. Protecting the environment does not appear central to their activity, to put it mildly."
Jean Jouzel, climatologist, winner of the 2012 Vetlesen Award and co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Award as Director of the IPCC
Yuri Kozyrev travelled the route of the Russian maritime ports of the Arctic, accompanying the last remaining Nomadic people of the region, the Nenets, during their seasonal movement known as transhumance. This was interrupted for the first time in the Nenets’ history in 2018, because of the melting of the permafrost. Kozyrev skirted the coast of the Barents Sea in the north of the country, and travelled aboard the Montchegorsk, the first container ship to use the Northern Sea route unassisted. He encountered people who had been made ill by nickel mining in Norilsk, and then travelled to Murmansk, where the first floating nuclear power plant is under secret construction.
Kadir van Lohuizen started his journey on the Norwegian island of Spitzberg in the Svalbard archipelago. He then followed the Northwest Passage, which is now the shortest route between Europe and Asia thanks to the melting ice. In Greenland, he met scientists who have recently discovered the existence of frozen rivers beneath the ice-cap, which are directly contributing to the planet’s rising water levels. South of Cornwallis Island, off the coast of Canada, he lived in the small community of Resolute, which has recently been home to a training facility for the Canadian Army, as climate change has led to ever-increasing routes through the Arctic region. Finally, he travelled to Kivalina, an indigenous village on the northern tip of Alaska, which, according to current forecasts, will disappear underwater by 2025.
"Working in Arctic Alaska I saw the impact of climate change on the indigenous communities: offshore oil drilling is becoming less complicated due to the melting of the sea ice and is affecting local communities. The thawing of the permafrost is affecting structures and coastal erosion affects towns such as Shishmaref, which will be evacuated in the near future."
The forces of tourism, militarisation, exploitation of gas and mineral resources, and the opening of trade routes mean that the Arctic is today the site of clashes between countries and multinationals who are locked in a chaotic competition for control of these zones, which have taken on strategic importance in the history of humankind due to the effects of global warming. The photographs in “Arctic: New Frontier” by Yuri Kozyrev and Kadir van Lohuizen are an alarming testimony to the speed of transformation in the region and the upheavals that are taking place on a global scale.
Bilingual French - English
Contributors : Jean Jouzel, David Barber, Yuri Kozyrev & Kadir van Lohuizen
160 pages
€35,00
The 9th edition of the Award was held under the patronage of Minister Ségolène Royal, French Ambassador for the Arctic and Antarctic Poles.
The jury was composed of:
Jean Jouzel (Chairman of the Jury), Climatologist, winner of the 2012 Vetlesen Prize for his research on polar ice in Antarctica and Greenland. He was also vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2015 and co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness of the climate emergency.
David Barber, Arctic climate change specialist and chief scientist of the expedition on the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Amundsen.
Emma Bowkett, Director of Photography, Financial Times Weekend Magazine
Pascal Beausse, Director of the photography collection, Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP)
Nicolas Jimenez, Director of Photography, Le Monde
Sarah Leen - Director of Photography, National Geographic Magazine
Lizzie Sadin, Photojournalist, laureate of the 8th edition of the Carmignac Award.
Green Cross
Green Cross is an NGO created in 1993 by Mikhail Gorbachev, following Rio 1992, and focused on accompanying the effective ecological transition of territories and places between peace, environment and climate. In this context, Green Cross contributes to the debate and implementation on the ground of keys to action, initiatives and demonstrators. This work shows in real conditions that by improving our access to water and the ocean, our food, our use of energy services, via cooperation, the circular economy and all the components of sustainable cities and territories, we preserve peace.
Time for the Ocean
Time for the Ocean aims to implement and support, by all means and in
all forms, all projects and initiatives for the protection of the oceans and
defence of the environment, including the preservation of wildlife and wild
flora, sites of biodiversity, and the preservation of natural environments
and resources. Time for the Ocean contributes to strengthening the knowledge and preservation of marine and coastal ecosystems, and engages in information, education and awareness—raising operations focused on the
rational use of natural resources.
GEO
For nearly 40 years, GEO has taken you further. Further on in the journey, in
the reporting, in the discovery of people, lands and tales from elsewhere.
GEO is the promise of a world discovery.
Reporters and photographers travel the globe to satisfy the curiosity of readers about various editorial topics. They offer them a contemporary look on the evolution of society, environment and the major geopolitical issues facing the planet. Its strength : an journalistic know-how recognized for years for its quality and originality, and - of course - exceptional pictures, a testimony of the beauty and richness of the world.
PhotoSaintGermain
For the third consecutive year, the Carmignac Photojournalism Award and the PhotoSaintGermain festival have joined forces to offer a series of meetings on the future of photojournalism. In collaboration with the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, these meetings, of a new format, will give five new personalities from the world of photography the opportunity to speak, each for 12 minutes, about trends and new perspectives in visual journalism.
