Presentation - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Rapid Climate Change in the Arctic: Why Everybody Should Care

| June 06, 2019

Note

Professor John P. Holdren gave this lecture, hosted by Dean of Schwartzman Scholars Xue Lan, at Tsinghua University in Beijing on June 6, 2019.

Summary

Temperatures are increasing in the Arctic 2 to 4 times faster than the global average rate of warming.  Sea ice and snow cover are shrinking; glaciers and the great Greenland ice sheet are likewise shrinking, thus contributing to sea-level rise; permafrost is thawing; wildfires are becoming larger and more frequent; and the Arctic Ocean is becoming less saline and more acidic.

The reduction of sea-ice cover is opening up new opportunities for navigation, fishing, and resource development, but with these opportunities come new requirements for monitoring, governance, and regulation.  Still more challenging are the impacts of all of the changes on Arctic communities, infrastructure, and wildlife, as well as on the pace of climate change and sea-level rise worldwide.

In this lecture, Dr. John P. Holdren first summarized the latest science relating to climate change in the Arctic and its impacts in the region and worldwide.  Then, he discussed the efforts that are underway to improve our detailed understanding of what is happening and to address the array of challenges that result.  He concluded by discussing what further actions from the global community are required.

Downloads

For more information on this publication: Please contact Science, Technology, and Public Policy
For Academic Citation: Holdren, John P. “Rapid Climate Change in the Arctic: Why Everybody Should Care.” Presentation, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, June 6, 2019. (presented at Tsinghua University, Beijing).

The Author

John P. Holdren

John P. Holdren

  • Teresa and John Heinz Research Professor of Environmental Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Co-Director, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
  • Member of the Board, Belfer Center
  • President Obama's Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (January 2009 – January 2017)
Expertise:
Recommended
In the Spotlight
RSS
Brittany Janis and Melissa Shapiro write about the "Exploring Arctic Sustainability" program which brought together nearly 20 Indigenous youth from Alaska, Canada, Mongolia, Norway, and Sweden for a week of climate leadership training and dialogue.
Calder Walton writes in this Times piece that China is conducting an espionage onslaught against Britain unlike that undertaken by Western governments themselves. "It is broad, deep, accelerating, and multi-domain," he says.
Energy economist Severin Borenstein in this conversation with Robert Stavins discussed the many significant challenges facing the nation’s electricity power sector in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice."
Most Viewed

Tags