Environment & Climate Change

Many issues in the Arctic are transboundary in nature and cannot be solved at the national level. A study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, examined several key Arctic issues - maritime safety and security, commercial fisheries, and climate change and energy - and the difficulties of addressing them without Russian involvement.

Confronted by the accelerating climate crisis, Western governments, NGOs, and academia are grappling with a difficult question: Should the West engage with Russia on science and conservation, at a time when Russia is waging an unjust and violent war on a sovereign nation?

This study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, is evaluating the costs and benefits of renewing cooperation with Russia on science and conservation issues.

Climate change is threatening the network of winter ice roads that connect Canada's remote Northern communities. Airships could provide a sustainable transportation alternative.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has devastated Ukraine’s natural environment and the health and well-being of its citizens, but the war’s impacts have also had direct and indirect environmental effects in the Arctic.

This study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, is evaluating the costs and benefits of renewing cooperation with Russia on science and conservation issues.

This six-session study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, evaluated the costs and benefits of renewing cooperation with Russia on science and conservation issues. In the process, participants learned about the Arctic's unique environmental and cultural characteristics, as well as the key agreements and governance structures supporting environmental protection and sustainable development in the region. 

The Arctic may seem distant and disconnected from the lives of many people. However, this region plays a crucial role in the functioning of our planet and deserves our attention and care. 

This study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, is evaluating the costs and benefits of renewing cooperation with Russia on science and conservation issues.

Russia’s announcement demonstrates that they want real cooperation through the Arctic Council and not just the symbolic fig leaf that the Council is at risk of becoming, says Jennifer Spence.

Most post-primary education in Greenland is conducted in Danish. Offering more instruction in Greenlandic would not only improve educational outcomes for Greenlanders, but would further Greenland's capacity to self-govern, says Linda Lyberth Kristiansen.

Between hosting the Arctic Circle Japan Forum and China-India-Russia scientific cooperation, there is an international appetite for Asian states to play a great role in restoring Arctic cooperation, argues Calvin Heng.

In May 2023, the Arctic Initiative held a closed-door workshop for climate scientists, regional experts, Indigenous and youth leaders, and national security officials from six Arctic states, with the goal of identifying the most plausible scenarios and pathways for how geopolitics linked to climate change in the Arctic might evolve and actionable steps that the U.S. government might consider taking today to manage emerging risks. Eyck Fremann summarizes his key takeaways from the event.