Science, Technology, and Public Policy

At the Arctic Frontiers 2021 conference, Joel Clement delivered the keynote address for the "Building the future" panel. His inspirational speech was an ode to empowering youth and building a resilient Arctic — and a reflection on the discussions of the 2020 Arctic Resilience Forum.

In 2019, the Belfer Center’s Arctic Initiative and the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute co-hosted a workshop with the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council at Harvard Kennedy School entitled, Policy and Action on Plastic in the Arctic Ocean. This early-convening played a key role in fostering a policy discussion around tackling the problem of plastics in the Arctic Ocean. 

Now in 2021 the first global conference focused on plastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean, the International Symposium on Plastics in the Arctic and the Sub-Arctic Region,  will be hosted virtually in early March. Findings from the 2019 event will be featured as a keynote in the Symposium on Plastics in the Arctic and as part of the final panel on March 9, which is focused on the topic of “Ways Forward”. 

Professor John P. Holdren made these remarks at a Harvard Kennedy School Energy Policy Seminar in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on November 2, 2020.

In October 2019, the Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative and the Wilson Center's Polar Institute co-hosted a workshop on Policy and Action on Plastic in the Arctic Ocean with the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The Arctic Council asked Magnús Jóhannesson, the Council's designated Special Coordinator on Plastics Pollution and Marine Litter, and Gunn-Britt Retter, Head of Arctic and Environmental Unit at the Saami Council — who both participated in the workshop — to comment on some of the points that the report raises.

With 2019 on pace as one of the warmest years on record, a major new study from the University of California, Davis, reveals how rapidly the Arctic is warming and examines global consequences of continued polar warming.

The Policy and Action on Plastic in the Arctic Ocean workshop was held at the Harvard Kennedy School on 30–31 October 2019. The speakers' bios and presentations are now available.

On June 6, 2019, Professor John P. Holdren gave a lecture for students and faculty at Tsinghua University's School of Public Policy and Management on the latest climate science as it affects the Arctic.  He discussed efforts to understand the challenges affecting the region and the global community and what further worldwide actions are required to address these challenges.

Professor John P. Holdren made these remarks for the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on March 29, 2019.

Join us for a special recording of the Climate One podcast and radio show at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, featuring Harvard's John Holdren and Gina McCarthy and hosted by Greg Dalton.

Professor John P. Holdren made these remarks for the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, on March 12, 2019.