Arctic Climate Week at Harvard Kennedy School

Rapid climate change in the Arctic has major, direct, and, too often, underappreciated impacts on Northern communities, economies, and ecosystems; on international economic and security relations across the region; and on the pace and patterns of global climate change. Raising public awareness of these impacts is an important part of the Arctic Initiative’s mission. In November 2021, the Initiative hosted Arctic Climate Week at Harvard Kennedy School, with the aim of engaging the broader Harvard community in critical discussions about the future of the Arctic.

Day 1: COP26 Reflections and Arctic Energy Transitions

Freshly arrived from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Associate Halla Hrund Logadóttir kicked off Arctic Climate Week by sharing her reflections on COP26’s unique mechanisms for climate cooperation. The Q&A, which was moderated by Initiative Co-Director Henry Lee, unpacked Greenland’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and its relationships with Iceland, the United States, and China. Special note was also made of Iceland’s participation in the COP26 and the successful negotiations to include oceans in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Day 2: Advancing Arctic Resilience Through the Arctic Council

On Tuesday, Senior Fellows Jennifer Spence and Joel Clement provided a comprehensive overview of the Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group’s work on enhancing the resilience of Arctic Indigenous communities. They emphasized the importance of knowledge co-creation through the involvement of both scientists and Indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of Arctic Council projects.

Day 3: Arctic Ocean Challenges and Opportunities

On Wednesday, Research Fellows Sarah Mackie and Nadezhda Filimonova delved into the environmental, climatic, and economic importance of the Arctic Ocean for Arctic Indigenous communities—and even Bostonians. The conversation then turned to emerging economic opportunities and environmental threats related to the changes occurring in the Arctic Ocean, including the opening of the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage, plastics in the Arctic Ocean, and the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement.

Day 4: Arctic Film Night

In a welcome change of pace from the seminars earlier in the week, on Thursday attendees were treated to a short film about Indigenous throat singing, an animated retelling of a traditional Nunavut legend, and a brief teaser of a Russian film set in the Arctic. The evening’s feature film, Chasing Ice, told the story of a scientific project to capture the speed of melting glaciers through photography. The stunning footage was a chilling reminder of the urgency of Arctic climate change.

Jennifer Spence and Joel Clement spoke about the work of the Arctic Council as it relates to enhancing the resilience of Arctic Indigenous communities. Kennedy School students chat with Halla Hrund Logadóttir during Arctic Climate Week.