Once considered "flyover country at the edge of the world," the Arctic, the Antarctic, and their associated marine environments are emerging as regions for exploration, exploitation, and extraction - as well as active arenas for geopolitical competition between polar and near-polar states. How that competition plays out will have serious ramifications for environmental, political, economic, and human security and stability around the globe. 

Please join the Arctic Initiative for a book talk featuring Douglas Causey, Arctic Initiative Associate and Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and Christian Leuprecht, Class of 1965 Professor in Leadership at the Royal Military College of Canada. Drawing from their new book, Polar Cousins: Comparing Antarctic and Arctic Geostrategic Futures, co-editors Causey and Leuprecht will  discuss the impacts of geopolitics and climate change on national and international security interests in both polar regions, as well as the lessons learned from the Arctic experience for addressing challenges relating to governance, environmental protection, and maritime operations in the Antarctic.

Arctic Initiative Co-Director John P. Holdren will moderate. Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Attendance: In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders; no RSVP required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. 

Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

Recording: The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page (typically one week later). Those who register for this event will automatically receive a link to the recording as soon as it becomes available.

Accessibility: Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Elizabeth Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Climate Change, Intelligence, and Global Security is a half-day conference co-sponsored by the Intelligence Project and the Environment and Natural Resources Program at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs along with the Center for Climate and Security. 

Headlined by John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, the conference will directly follow the April 22/23 Earth Day Leaders Climate Summit, and will emphasize the critical need for international cooperation and global leadership to collectively address the security threats posed by the climate crisis. We will convene senior climate experts, current and former intelligence officers, and leaders in the private sector and academia to facilitate productive dialogue and innovative solutions for combating the climate crisis. The four panels will examine climate change from a security perspective, discuss the role of the intelligence community in monitoring and mitigating the threats posed by climate change, explore new ways of thinking about international intelligence cooperation, and examine the role and contributions of the private sector.

This conference is virtual, open to the public, and free to attend.  Advanced registration is required. Please register individually for each session. 

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring John Holdren, Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at HKS. Professor Holdren will speak on "Thawing Permafrost: A Local and Global Disaster." The seminar will be hosted by HKS Professor Joe Aldy.

Attendance: This event is open to the public and hosted on Zoom. For those who cannot attend live, the seminar will be recorded and available to watch via the EPSS homepage.

Registration: Please RSVP at the link below. Registration will remain open until the event begins.

A Climate Week Event co-organized by the Woodwell Climate Research Center and the Arctic Initiative

This session focuses on a warming-driven phenomenon—the rapid thawing of Arctic permafrost—that is contributing simultaneously to the most vexing of Arctic warming’s impacts both in the region and around the world. This session will target experts and non-experts who are interested in understanding the science and policy issues at the heart of this widely underestimated facet of the global climate-change challenge.

Register here.

Speakers: 

• Mr. Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India
• Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi; India
• Prof. Johannes Urpelainen, Founding Director, Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP), Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C.
• Mr. Ranjit Bharvirkar, Principal and India Program Director, Regulatory Assistance Project, Vermont

Moderated by Professor John P. Holdren,  Co-Director,  Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

The seminar will begin with an introduction of the Science, Technology, & Public Policy Program and its focus on India's energy decarbonization and then each speaker will present for 15 minutes. This will be followed by a panel discussion and question and answer session moderated by Prof. John P. Holdren.

Coffee & Tea will be provided.

Co-sponsored by the Consortium of Energy Policy Research

Speaker: Mr. Tommy Ahlers, Minister of Higher Education and Science, Kingdom of Denmark

Moderators: Professor John P. Holdren, Co-Director, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program and Professor Daniel Schrag, Co-Director, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

Please join us for an open discussion over breakfast on the usage and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and the legislative challenges that usage of such new technology entails. The minister will present the challenges that he is wrestling with in this field and afterwards open up the floor for discussion.

Please RSVP to patricia_mclaughlin@hks.harvard.edu by 4 PM, Tuesday, January 29, 2019.

A public address by His Excellency Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, President of Iceland. Moderated by John Holdren, President Obama's Science Advisor and Director of the White Office of Science and Technology Policy (January 2009 – January 2017); Co-Director, Belfer Center's Science, Technology and Public Policy Program.

***Video now available***

Join the Arctic Initiative for a conversation with Inuuteq Holm Olsen, Minister Plenipotentiary for Greenland and John P. Holdren, President Obama's Science Advisor and Co-Director of STPP, on the tension between development and environmental protection in the Arctic, with a focus on indigenous people.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation and former Secretary of State to Portugal, will present a lecture followed by comments by John Holdren, Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy, Harvard Kennedy School and former Science Advisor to President Barack Obama, Rush Holt, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and former member of the US House of Representatives, and Venky Narayanamurti, Benjamin Peirce Professor of Technology and Public Policy and Professor of Physics, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

A conversation with Professor John Holdren on the complex environmental, economic, governance, and security challenges emerging in the Arctic.