EPB, AWI, and EPCO highlighted Polar Science at the 2025 AAORIA Forum with a Side Event and Interventions at the Forum

The European Polar Board (EPB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) co-organised the AAORIA 2025 Forum side event “Polar Oceans and Climate: Advancing Synergies for Long-Term Global Collaboration” in Brussels on 24 September 2025.

The event brought together scientists, policymakers, and representatives from international organisations to showcase how the Arctic and Antarctic drive climate dynamics, ocean circulation, and biodiversity across the Atlantic. Participants emphasised that understanding polar change is fundamental to anticipating climate impacts and building resilience for communities and economies that depend on a healthy ocean.

Key presentations and discussions highlighted:

• How Antarctic ice melt and Arctic circulation shifts influence global climate systems, with insights from the OCEAN:ICE and EPOC EU funded projects.
• Advances in Earth observation and digital ocean technologies, with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), Copernicus, and EMODnet.
• The importance of transnational access to polar research infrastructures through the EU-funded POLARIN project (2024–2029).
• Efforts to coordinate global observing systems and prepare for the 5th International Polar Year (2032–33) and the Antarctica InSync initiative.
• National initiatives from South Africa, Argentina, Canada, Poland, and Norway, showcasing how countries are strengthening polar science capacity and collaboration.
• The role of EPCO in aligning EU-funded polar research efforts and ensuring that project outcomes effectively inform European policy and international dialogue.

The event concluded with a Call for Action urging governments, research institutions, and funding agencies to elevate polar science as a global priority. The statement reaffirmed that investment in polar research is an investment in resilience, sustainability, and security for the Atlantic and the planet.

Polar Regions at the 2025 AAORIA Forum

On 26 September 2025, Dr. Nicole Biebow (AWI) and Dr. Kylie Owen (EPCO) joined the AAORIA Forum panel discussion “Our Linkages with the Polar Seas”. Nicole presented a summary of the Call for Action from the polar side event, while Kylie highlighted the importance of scientific cooperation and the inclusion of polar research within AAORIA actions as a fundamental connection between the polar regions, the Atlantic Ocean, and the planet as a whole.

During the discussion, Nicole also shared perspectives from EU-funded projects supporting transnational access to research infrastructures, such as INTERACT and POLARIN. She highlighted them as success stories that enhance collaboration, break down silos, and bring the polar research community closer together.