Environment & Climate Change

This report is based on insights from a two-day workshop hosted by the Belfer Center’s Arctic Initiative in collaboration with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, the Center for Ocean Governance at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, and the Wilson Center's Polar Institute. Participants developed practical recommendations for facilitating climate science cooperation through the Arctic Council and other institutions.

This policy brief provides an overview of existing and novel, climate-driven challenges to infrastructure in the Alaskan Arctic.

As the biosphere is altered by anthropogenic climate change, the fundamental sources of human health are at risk. Climate change is a healthcare emergency. While this is true globally, the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average which
puts Arctic populations who are already at special risk, at further risk. This policy brief provides an overview of the climate-related changes that are impacting Arctic citizens’ health now.

Arctic and sub-Arctic cities are already experiencing the impacts of rapid climate change in the region, which pose severe risks to urban infrastructure and the health and livelihoods of urban residents. Environmental changes and extreme weather events compound existing social, economic, and political stressors faced by northern cities. Given these challenges, local authorities are increasingly hard-pressed to provide and maintain safe living and environmental conditions for residents. By learning from these experiences and challenges, decision-makers at various levels of
government can implement further actions to enhance cities’ resilience locally and globally in the face of the adverse effects of climate change.

Alaska is an important region for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), given the
Department’s statutory authority and responsibilities. This reality applies with particular force to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), with its jurisdiction over fisheries enforcement, drug interdiction, marine safety, oil spill response, search and rescue, and more. This policy brief provides an overview of the challenges facing the USCG in its domains of operation around Alaska—the Arctic Ocean, the North Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, the
Chukchi Sea, and the adjacent communities.

The Arctic is continuing to warm three to four times faster than the global average and the sea ice extent is declining precipitously during all months of the year. Due to these trends, shipping activity in the region has expanded significantly over the past two decades. This brings new challenges to maritime safety, sensitive ecosystems, and local people.

This policy brief provides an overview of the importance of and opportunities for multilateral cooperation in the Arctic on issues related to climate change.

This policy brief provides an overview of current scientific understandings of climate change in Alaska and the Arctic, with a focus on sea ice, land ice, and sea level change.

This policy brief reviews the key differences in how Asian states are approaching the Arctic through a survey of their strategic documents, public statements, and diplomatic and commercial activities.

Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Jennifer Spence facilitated the first Arctic Policy Hackathon in Reykjavik, Iceland - a joint initiative of the Gordon Foundation, the Canadian International Arctic Centre, and the Arctic Mayors’ Forum. The final policy recommendations shift the power to Arctic communities to dictate their own well-being through food sovereignty and should be a priority in Arctic policy discussions.