AMPLIFIES A TOP GLOBAL RISK:

Arctic warming amplifies existing threats to climate vulnerable countries around the world. Our new campaign focuses on regions including Africa, Asia, Europe, the Pacific, North America and the Caribbean and highlights how Arctic warming is related to global risks such as droughts, wildfires, food and water insecurity, sea level rise, cyclones and hurricanes.

What happens in the Arctic really doesn't stay there.

There is growing scientific evidence that climate change leads to more severe, and more frequent, extreme weather events in most parts of the planet. These extreme events, coupled with rising atmospheric temperatures and moisture across the world, are some of the most obvious manifestations of climate change. It is well documented that increasingly hot and humid conditions – as measured by heat stress – adversely affect human health and work productivity. This has a negative impact on people’s livelihoods and wider economies.

The Arctic plays a bigger role in the success of the 17 SDGs than has ever been considered. Loss of Arctic sea ice and snow cover drives global heating by 25-40%.

Warming in the Arctic causes impacts that extend far beyond its borders and carries significant economic costs. To achieve the SDGs we need the Arctic.

The latest analysis paints a picture of rapidly unfolding environmental breakdown as a direct result of increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Extreme warming, rapid sea ice loss, Greenland melt, and permafrost thaw are all triggering a cascade of risks in the rest of the world.

it contributes to rising sea levels, higher global temperatures and increasingly extreme weather. These physical changes worsen food and water insecurity, supply chain disruption, disease, heat stress and damage to infrastructure and ecosystems. Estimates of global socio-economic and ecological impacts linked with Arctic warming put a price tag of tens of billions USD per year over the coming decades.

Comprehensive solutions exist to address climate change by cutting emissions and adapting to a changing climate. But there are no silver bullets or shortcuts in the fight against climate change. Citizen and consumer behaviour change alone will not be enough: state and economic actors will need to show real leadership and innovation.

Arctic breakdown elevates risk far beyond its borders. The WEF meeting in Davos is a critical opportunity to align government policies and business strategies to collectively act to address climate change.