Environment & Climate Change

The rapid pace of Arctic thaw demands collaboration with Russia, no matter the political implications. In a seminar hosted by the Arctic Initiative on May 11, 2022, Andrey Todorov and Andreas Østhagen tackled the thorny question of how to proceed with Arctic Ocean governance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and expressed tentative hope for a pragmatic approach to cooperating with Russia on pressing issues such as shipping and fishery management.

Joel Clement writes that because the Biden administration  has moved to repair the damage done by the Trump administration, colleagues from around the global Arctic are optimistic once again about partnering with America on solutions to regional crises .

President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to create a new cabinet-level position for climate-related issues — and to choose so prominent a figure as former Secretary of State John Kerry to fill it — demonstrates Biden’s sincerity over putting climate at the very center of U.S. foreign policy. It is easy to understate the importance of this appointment, given the flurry of czars created by most new administrations.

Estimating the long-term effect of the current pandemic is not an exact prediction of the future, but an exercise in weighing probabilities and adjusting current policies. When envisioning the international order in 2030,  joseph Nye details five scenarios that stand out.

The Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative is selecting a small group of 2–3 Harvard students to present their ideas at the Arctic Innovation Lab in Iceland. The Lab takes place at the world's largest Arctic gathering, the Arctic Circle Assembly, from October 10–13, 2019.  The application deadline is Friday, September 6, 2019.