Arctic
Understanding COP: The World’s Climate Summit and Why COP30 Matters
What Is COP? COP is the “Conference of the Parties,” an annual United Nations summit where world leaders, diplomats, scientists, and other stakeholders gather to address climate change issues. The “Parties” refer to the 198 countries (plus the European Union) that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty adopted…
Read full story‘People First’ and Other Reflections from Arctic Encounter Symposium 2024
Slushy sidewalks, falling flakes, and brisk breezes indicate April’s late-winter tendrils are yet to relinquish Anchorage from their grasps. None of it freezes folks in their footsteps. Over 1,000 people from many corners of the globe have traveled to Alaska’s metropolis for the 10th anniversary Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES), North America’s largest Arctic policy and…
Read full storyFire, Food, Communities, and More: SEARCH at Arctic Encounter Symposium 2024
The 10th anniversary of North America’s largest Arctic policy convening is happening this week (4/10 – 4/12), and SEARCH is ready to update participants on our shared understanding of Arctic environmental change. Arctic Encounter Symposium—an annual gathering of over a thousand Arctic policymakers, Indigenous Knowledge holders, community members, scientists, and more—is a staple on the…
Read full storySEARCH @ AGU23: We’re Bringing Shared Understanding of Arctic Environmental Change to a Meeting Over 25,000 People Strong
One of the country’s largest scientific gatherings starts next week (11-15 December 2023), and SEARCH is thrilled to be attending once again. The American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2023 Fall Meeting—aptly abbreviated as AGU23—will see over 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries descend on San Francisco for a week of presentations, meetings, networking, and more. SEARCH…
Read full storyCo-produced knowledge guides suggestions for the Alaska Energy Security Task Force
SEARCH’s co-production teams convened in Anchorage earlier this month to advance policy-relevant understanding of environmental change in the Arctic. One working group is exploring equitable and sustainable energy policies for Alaska, and they used the Anchorage convening to co-produce and submit formal comments to the Alaska Energy Security Task Force. With the public comment period…
Read full storySEARCH Syntheses Underway: Bringing together What We Know about Changes in the Arctic
SEARCH is a complex collaboration of 50 Indigenous Knowledge holders, scientists, & decision makers co-producing solutions to problems that people face as the Arctic environment changes rapidly. We operate with funding from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs. Our premise is that meeting the profound challenges of rapid environmental change requires decisions informed…
Read full storyWelcome back, Alex Shahbazi!
We are pleased to welcome Alexander Shahbazi back to SEARCH. While a student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Alex conducted research on Arctic high seas fishing for the World Wildlife Fund, polar bear management for Polar Bears International, and co-production of knowledge for SEARCH. Since graduating, he founded Terra Virens Consulting…
Read full storyThe Meaning of Melt: SEARCH at Arctic Encounter Symposium 2023
At this year’s Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, SEARCH team members explored the Meaning of Melt.
With 11 different voices speaking on the meaning of melt—and with audience members welcomed to share their own thoughts—we centered what the loss of sea ice means for Indigenous people, scientists, artists, policy makers, and more
Read full storyIn the news: Consequences of rapid Arctic environmental change for people, Arctic Report Card 2022
Co-chair of the Human Well Being team Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer spoke with multiple news outlets about the importance of the 2022 Arctic Report Card. To read all the original stories click the links below or check out our “In the News” page to see the running coverage. Questions? Media inquiries? Please reach out to Athena…
Read full storyArctic Report Card 2022: Highlighting the consequences of rapid environmental Arctic change for people
In a new essay, SEARCH highlights how people in the Arctic experience the combined effects of rapid environmental change. Weather, ecosystem and infrastructure disruptions, shifting animal movements, multi-faceted decision-making, and people’s ability to adapt and mitigate these changes are among the impacts discussed in this new essay. Forty-one Indigenous, scientific, and policy experts in SEARCH…
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