Analysis & Opinions

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.

Unlike industrial and other forms of pollution, the long-standing, pervasive problem of municipal solid waste in Arctic cities receives comparatively little attention. As rapid warming in the region compromises existing waste disposal methods such as landfills, Arctic cities will need to develop comprehensive solid waste management strategies for the health of residents and the environment.

In March 2022, seven of the eight Arctic states announced an unprecedented pause in the operations of the Arctic Council in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Elizabeth Hanlon sat down with Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Fran Ulmer to understand what we might expect when Norway assumes the Chairship of the Council from Russia on May 11, 2023.

If the world is serious about addressing climate change, we should welcome forward momentum on this critical technology. Getting on track for net zero emissions by 2050 will require swiftly and massively ramping up carbon capture deployment.

Teams from Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) have been working together on how to maximize the likelihood that the carbon-neutrality goals announced by the United States and China for around mid-century can be met. This statement by senior members of the two teams conveys key findings from the first phase of the collaborative project. 

Legal scholar Andrey Todorov, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Arctic Initiative, reflects on the recent agreement reached by United Nations delegates to protect biodiversity in international waters and its implications for the Arctic. 

Arctic Initiative Co-Director John Holdren and Senior Fellow Fran Ulmer call for increased U.S.-Canadian cooperation on geopolitical challenges around relations with Russia and China as well as the critical problems being imposed by climate change on the North American Arctic.

Amid increasing tensions between the West and Russia, a new Russian law regulating the navigation of foreign warships in the Northern Sea Route, whose legal regime has been the subject of a long-standing U.S.-Russian dispute, has garnered much international concern and criticism. However, a sober analysis suggests that many observers’ interpretations of the new law and its implications for Arctic security are overblown.

On February 6, 2023, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) issued recommendations with regard to the Russian submission in respect of the Arctic Ocean. Russia subsequently accepted the Commission’s recommendations, bringing its two-decade bid to extend its continental shelf close to an end. This development sends an important positive signal in times of unprecedented political disturbance in the Arctic region.

Unlike during squabbles over emissions, where industrial policy and growth concerns often clash with a mandate for reduction, the United States and China have clear, demonstrated interests in the responsible global governance of geoengineering, argue Scott Moore and Eyck Freymann.