Harvard Kennedy School Professor John Holdren and Jennifer Spence, the director of the Arctic Initiative at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs say the alarm bells ringing in the Arctic on everything from thawing permafrost to economic exploitation to great power rivalry are dire warnings for the rest of the world. It's one of the most remote regions on earth, but what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in there. Melting land ice in Greenland is the single biggest contributor to the sea level rise that is literally drowning Kiribati, a Pacific island nation that is home to 132,000 people and more than 6000 miles away. Worsening wildfires in the Canadian Arctic contributed to the rise in emergency room visits for people with respiratory problems in New York and Philadelphia last summer. Holdren and Spence say that for decades the Arctic has represented the best of humanity—a model of international cooperation where scientists, policymakers, and indigenous people have set aside national concerns to try to save one of the world’s most vital places. But that cooperation is now endangered by political conflict over Russia’s war on Ukraine and Trump’s attempts to annex Greenland from Denmark, by budget cuts to science programs, and by the economic lure of new ocean shipping routes made possible by melting ice and the region’s reserves of rare earth elements. John Holdren is co-director of the Kennedy School’s Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, a theoretical physicist, and director of the White House office of science and technology under President Obama. Jennifer Spence is a former Canadian government official and an expert on the Arctic and sustainable development. They join host PolicyCast host Ralph Ranalli to talk about the unprecedented pressures facing the Arctic and its people. John Holdren’s Policy Recommendations: ● Reverse as many Trump administration cuts to research and Arctic science as possible and restore U.S. scientific cooperation efforts in the region. ● Prioritize and support joint work on Arctic Ocean management, the impacts of permafrost thaw, and the mechanics of Greenland ice sheet thaw and its contribution to global sea level rise. ● Focus on the management of Arctic travel routes as part of overall ocean management. ● Recognize that non-Arctic countries like China have legitimate interests in the Arctic and should be included in relevant discussions and collaborations. Jennifer Spence’s Policy Recommendations: ● All Arctic states should invest in their own expertise, scientists, and institutions to fill the space vacated by the U.S. and Russia . ● Continue dialogue and maintain lines of communication, while ensuring a place remains open for U.S. experts and officials at the working level of the Arctic Council. ● Prioritize areas of common ground for collaboration, such as wildfire and emergency management, and continue to collect and share data.