Global warming is triggering irreversible changes in the Earth’s frozen regions, leading to major shifts in local ecosystems and posing serious threats worldwide. While concerns about the risks and drawbacks of climate interventions are well-founded, few systematic studies have assessed the proposed options and their potential environmental, social, and economic consequences. To address this gap, UArctic, GRID-Arendal, and the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland released Frozen Arctic: Horizon Scan of Interventions to Slow Down, Halt, and Reverse the Effects of Climate Change in the Arctic and Northern Regions in October 2023. This rapid response assessment identified and evaluated 61 proposed interventions based on their potential feasibility, timeliness, and scalability.

The preliminary assessment has since evolved into a dedicated website: climateinterventions.org. This platform serves as a knowledge base for academia, governments, investors, philanthropists, policymakers, and advocacy groups. It highlights knowledge gaps, research and development needs, and the readiness of different interventions while providing an overview of their risks and potential benefits. The site is regularly updated with new information on specific interventions, links to key actors, and relevant news.

The team behind the initiative is now embarking on the most ambitious phase of the project. Every proposed intervention will undergo an open, high-quality, transparent, and non-partisan peer-review process. Expert groups from a range of disciplines—including atmospheric, terrestrial, ocean, and ecosystem sciences, as well as economics, society, business, law, and governance—will lead the reviews. Experts will be primarily drawn from UArctic Thematic Networks, UArctic Chairs, and UArctic’s wider membership. Running alongside this effort, Arctic Indigenous Peoples will conduct an independent assessment, coordinated by the Saami Council.

The Climate Interventions project is guided by a management team from UArctic and partner organisations. This team is responsible for the overall direction and coordination of the project, ensuring that the work is carried out in a transparent, high-quality, and non-partisan manner. Team members include Lars Kullerud (UArctic), Tiina Kurvits (GRID-Arendal), Julius Lindi (Saami Council), John Moore (Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland), Oda Mulelid (GRID-Arendal), and Albert van van Wijngaarden (University of Cambridge).

To ensure the process remains open, high-quality, transparent, and non-partisan, UArctic also established an Advisory Board to provide strategic leadership and guide the assessment of climate interventions in the Arctic. The Advisory Board members include Åsa Larsson Blind (Saami Council), Shaun Fitzgerald (University of Cambridge), Tore Furevik (University of Bergen), Lisa Miller (World Climate Research Programme), and Rolf Rødven (AMAP Secretariat), and is chaired by Lars Kullerud, President of UArctic. At its first meeting, the board agreed that the first assessment teams would focus on sea ice and atmosphere interventions.

The climateinterventions.org website will be the main communications hub for information about the expert assessments. It will feature updates from the assessment teams, summaries of ongoing progress, key findings, and provide a platform for public engagement, offering access to relevant documents and data as they become available.

It is important to emphasise that the Climate Interventions project does not advocate for any specific idea or for climate interventions in general. Its goal is to remain neutral, conveying only the outcomes of the review process without endorsing or opposing any intervention. If the project expresses any position, it is that humanity should prioritise limiting its influence on the climate through emissions reductions, land use changes, and other actions.

Explore the project pages at climateinterventions.org

 

More information:

Lars Kullerud
president@uarctic.org 

Tiina Kurvits
tiina.kurvits@grida.no