Arctic Initiative

The Arctic Initiative strives to increase understanding and improve policies to respond to what is happening in the changing Arctic region by initiating new research, convening policymakers, scientists, and politicians, and by developing a new generation of public and private officials with a much greater knowledge of the factors affecting the Arctic ecosystems and their implications for the environmental, social, and economic systems around the globe.

Co-Director:

John P. Holdren

Co-Director: Henry Lee

Co-Director:

Halla Hrund Logadóttir (until June 2021; Senior Fellow July 2021–present)

Associate Director: Amanda Sardonis

Research Manager:

Brittany Janis Daniel Bicknell (Interim)

Communications and Outreach Coordinator:

Elizabeth Hanlon

Administrative Coordinator:

Karin Vander Schaaf

The Arctic Initiative started the year by launching the James J. McCarthy Arctic Indigenous Youth Leadership Seminar in collaboration with the Association of World Reindeer Herders, the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry, the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples Secretariat, and the UArctic EALÁT Institute. More than 30 Indigenous youth from around the circumpolar Arctic worked together to learn about and develop innovative solutions to their communities’ challenges. The Arctic Initiative also featured Indigenous and youth voices from around the Arctic on its new Northern Lights podcast (https:// northern-lights.simplecast.com/).

In March, the Arctic Initiative co-hosted the first-ever global conference on plastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean, “A Global Symposium on Plastics in the Arctic,” chaired by the Government of Iceland and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The symposium brought together scientists, practitioners, decision makers, and other stakeholders to improve the way we deal with plastic pollution in the Arctic marine environment.

Research Fellows Sarah Mackie and Sarah Dewey engaged students on plastic pollution and ocean conservation during the spring student study group. The rapid transformation of the Arctic region served as the basis for the Arctic Data Stories Workshop with the Woodwell Climate Research Center and ESRI. Student participants built StoryMaps as a way to answer their chosen questions at the nexus of science, policy, and communications.

Arctic Initiative Co-Founder Halla Hrund Logadóttir taught IGA-671M: Policy and Social Innovation in the Changing Arctic during the spring semester. Two students developed their innovations beyond the course. Allison Agsten released “Reforming the Arctic Narrative,” which included approaches for generating resonant, representative, and ethical stories in Arctic climate change news coverage. Ulla Hemminki-Reijonen published “Reinventing Climate Change Education” with Logadóttir to highlight innovative pedagogical approaches when designing climate change education.

Additionally, this year, the Arctic Initiative returned to the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland, hosting the “Arctic Innovation Lab” that featured 10 student innovators and “Policy and Action on Plastic in the Arctic” with the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute.

Arctic Initiative Co-Director Professor John Holdren published “Permafrost Carbon Feedbacks Threaten Global Climate Goals” in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences with Woodwell Climate Research Center colleagues. In addition, Faculty Affiliate Stuart Harris released “Siamit: A Novel Academic–Tribal Health Partnership in Northwest Alaska” in Academic Medicine.

Global attention turned to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November. The Arctic Initiative team continued the conversation during Arctic Climate Week— a weeklong series of events at HKS focused on the energy transition, resilience, ocean management, cultural representation, and environmental security in the Arctic.

In 2022, the Arctic Initiative will remain focused on exploring the impacts of permafrost thaw, improving sustainable ocean management, advancing Arctic resilience, increasing diplomatic and political cooperation, and training future Arctic leaders. Two upcoming collaborations include a project on permafrost thaw data and policy with the Woodwell Climate Research Center and the Alaska Institute for Justice and a community-based tabletop exercise with the Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group and the Arctic Athabaskan Council.