Arctic Initiative

Contrary to popular perception, the Arctic is not a desolate wilderness: four million people call the Arctic home, two-thirds of whom reside in urban settlements. Like the region as a whole, the rapid pace of climate change is making life in Arctic cities—challenging at the best of times due to winter darkness, remoteness, and cold weather—increasingly difficult. Climate-induced hazards, such as permafrost thaw, sea ice loss, sea level rise, erosion, flooding, and wildfires, pose severe risks to urban infrastructure and the health and livelihoods of urban residents. 

Please join Harvard Kennedy School’s Arctic Initiative and the Arctic Mayors’ Forum for a virtual seminar that will explore how Arctic cities are addressing the current and future impacts of climate change, as well as the lessons that Arctic cities and other cities elsewhere in the world can learn from each other’s experiences. The panel will feature Ida Maria Pinnerød, Mayor of Bodø, Norway; Annika Myrén, Development Strategist of the City of Umeå, Sweden; and Bryce Ward, Mayor of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. Arctic Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellow Nadezhda Filimonova will moderate. Q&A to follow. 

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 on this page (typically within two weeks). Those who register for this event will automatically receive a link to the recording as soon as it becomes available.

Accessibility: To request a disability accommodation or for questions about access, please contact Elizabeth Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the seminar.

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring Eyck Freymann, joint Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative and Columbia University. Freymann will give a talk on "Chinese Perspectives on Climate Geopolitics." Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis. The seminar will also be streamed 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 Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Sponsors: The Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program, the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

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.

Please join the Arctic Initiative for a conversation with Halla Logadóttir, who is on site at COP27 representing Iceland as the Director-General of the country's National Energy Authority. Logadóttir will share her insights and impressions of the discussions during the first week of the conference, with a special focus on the energy transition and the Arctic. Arctic Initiative Associate Director Brittany Janis will moderate the virtual session.

Registration: This session is open to all members of the Harvard Kennedy School community. Attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

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

The Bering Strait region is a particularly unique area - one of the Arctic's most productive and sensitive environments but also a region increasingly facing pressure and challenges. Amidst an upheaval in relations between Russia and the other Arctic states exist transboundary risks associated with increased vessel activity, which continue to advance despite these deteriorated conditions.  

Please join the Harvard Kennedy School's Arctic Initiative, the Wilson Center's Polar Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund for a virtual workshop on transboundary risk management in the Bering Strait region.

Registration: This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP using the link below. For those who cannot attend live, the seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page.

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

Welcome to the event page for the 2022 Permafrost Pathways Convening, a meeting jointly organized by Harvard Kennedy School's Arctic Initiative, Woodwell Climate Research Center, and the Alaska Institute for Justice.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for the invitees to:

• learn about the Project’s current activities and preliminary plans for the six-year span of the Audacious grant;
• offer their thoughts about the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of permafrost science and policy; and
• consider, with us, the possibilities for communication and collaboration connecting their own Arctic projects and responsibilities with the Permafrost Pathways effort.

The convening will take place at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, over two consecutive days: Monday, September 26 from 9:30am - 8:00pm EST and Tuesday, September 27 from 8:30am - 2:00pm EST.

Additional information will be added to this page as the convening approaches.

Join the Arctic Initiative for a virtual panel Q&A to learn more about the new Permafrost Pathways project from our collaborators at Woodwell Climate Research Center, the Alaska Institute for Justice, and the Alaska Native Science Commission. 

Launched in 2022, Permafrost Pathways brings together leading experts in climate science, policy action, and environmental justice to inform and develop adaptation and mitigation strategies to address permafrost thaw.

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 on this page.

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

As the Arctic thaws, cooperation in the Arctic Ocean is critical to maintain the fragile ecosystems on which so many people depend. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upending Arctic diplomacy, the question of how to proceed with Arctic Ocean governance has become more urgent than ever.

Join the Arctic Initiative for a seminar that explores the history of cooperation in the Barents Sea and Bering Strait, as we discuss a path forward for cooperation in the Arctic in a time of conflict. 

Attendance: In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders. Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. For those who cannot attend live, the seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page.

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

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

Discussions of innovative approaches to the climate crisis held at Harvard Kennedy School rarely feature Indigenous approaches, and even fewer center Indigenous perspectives as the primary goal. 

To that end, the Native and Indigenous Caucus at Harvard Kennedy School, in partnership with the Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative, will hold a day-long hybrid convening to highlight Indigenous leadership in addressing the climate crisis. The event will bring together Indigenous leaders from across the globe to discuss the following:

1. How has the climate crisis uniquely affected Indigenous communities?
2. In what ways does an "Indigenous" approach to the climate crisis differ from non-Indigenous approaches? How does this differ across regions and communities?
3. What are examples of impactful activism by Indigenous writers, activists, government leaders, and youth? What can students and the broader HKS community learn from these examples?

Perspectives from the Arctic will be specifically featured in acknowledgment of the fact that Arctic Indigenous voices are often marginalized in broader climate conversations despite the crisis' disproportionate impact on Arctic communities. The event will highlight Arctic communities' extensive resistance knowledge and long-running efforts spanning decades. 

Attendance: In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders. Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom.

Contact: For questions, please contact Vic Hogg (vhogg@hks.harvard.edu).  `

Climate change is transforming the Arctic. How can we as researchers and policymakers help communities build resilience to these shocks and stressors? Join the Arctic Initiative for a workshop on how we understand and operationalize the concept of resilience, how to support community-driven research, and the mechanisms that support connections between community action and policy-making. Featured speakers include Joel Clement, Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow; Jennifer Spence, Arctic Initiative Associate; Brittany Janis, Arctic Initiative Research Manager and Justin Barnes, Associate Editor of the Arctic Yearbook. Networking reception for students to follow.

Attendance: In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders. Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom.

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.

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