European Polar Board joins new EU project Beyond Arctic PASSION to strengthen Arctic observations and international cooperation
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The European Polar Board (EPB) is pleased to announce its participation in Beyond Arctic PASSION; a new Horizon Europe project launched on 1 September 2026. Coordinated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Beyond Arctic PASSION brings together more than 40 organisations from 16 countries as a major European contribution towards an Arctic Observing System of Systems (AOSS).
Funded by the European Union with approximately €8.5 million over four years, Beyond Arctic PASSION builds on decades of effort to create data archives, infrastructures and knowledge networks, with the aim to strengthen data coverage, governance, and Indigenous participation.
Michael Karcher, co-lead of Beyond Arctic PASSION, said: "The need for improved Arctic observations has never been greater. As the Arctic warms nearly four times faster than the global average, reliable observations and trusted information are essential for understanding change and ensuring that communities, policymakers, academia and industry have the knowledge they need to respond."
Beyond Arctic PASSION also aims to improve collection, usability, accessibility, and interoperability of data while strengthening predictive modelling, supporting digital twins, and enhancing Copernicus services and ESA projects.
Jeremy Wilkinson, co-lead of Beyond Arctic PASSION, added: "No single organisation or country can meet this challenge alone. By bringing together scientific expertise, Indigenous Knowledge and local knowledge from across the Arctic and elsewhere, Beyond Arctic PASSION will help create a more coordinated, trusted, accessible and equitable observing system that supports decision-making, adaptation and sustainable development."
EPB's role in Beyond Arctic PASSION
Within Beyond Arctic PASSION, the European Polar Board is co-leading Work Package 1 on “Governance and long-term sustainability of the AOSS”, ensuring coordination, organisation, sharing, and sustainability, of the AOOS. This Work Package includes supporting and enhancing international Arctic science coordination, strengthening the international AOSS framework, and supporting Indigenous research governance.
In addition, Beyond Arctic PASSION also supports the implementation of the European Polar Coordination Office (EPCO) Work Plan. EPCO is a legacy outcome of the EU-funded EU-PolarNet 2 project. Since 2025, EPCO has been implemented by the European Polar Board to strengthen long-term coordination of European polar research and enhance the science-policy dialogue. In Beyond Arctic PASSION, this includes delivery of an Arctic observing stakeholder map, coordination of the project’s activities within the EU Polar Cluster, and maintenance of the Polar Catalyst Platform.
The European Polar Board looks forward to working with project partners over the next four years to strengthen European and international polar cooperation and help translate scientific knowledge into evidence that supports informed policy and decision-making.
Beyond Arctic PASSION consortium:
- Alfred Wegener Institute – Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Head of Partner, Germany
- United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI-BAS), United Kingdom
- University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Norway
- Saami Council Headquarters (SC), Norway
- ICC Greenland (ICC Greenland), Greenland
- Arctic Mayors Forum Secretariat (AMF), Norway
- Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), Norway
- University of Ottawa (UOttawa), Canada
- The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (METNO), Norway
- The Arctic Institute of North America (AINA), Canada
- Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Secretariat (AMAP), Norway
- Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), Denmark
- Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada) Inc. (ICC Canada), Canada
- European Polar Board (EPB), Sweden
- Mercator Ocean (MOI), France
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR), Greenland
- Seascape Belgium (SSBE), Belgium
- Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Finland
- SIOS Svalbard AS (SIOS), Norway
- National Research Council (CNR), Italy
- Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERCS), Norway
- GRID-Arendal (GRID-A), Norway
- The Alan Turing Institute (Turing), United Kingdom
- O.A.SYS - Ocean Atmosphere Systems GMBH (OASYS), Germany
- Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway
- Aarhus University (AU), Denmark
- The University of Lapland (ULAP), Finland
- French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
- Carleton University (CU), Canada
- Women of the Arctic RY (WOA), Canada
- Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IOPAN), Poland
- Interact-International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring (INPA), Sweden
- University of Helsinki (UH), Finland
- JRC -Joint Research Centre- European Commission (JRC), Belgium
- National Institute of Polar Research, Japan
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Japan
- Korea Polar Research Institute, South Korea
- University of Washington, USA
- University of Colorado, USA
- University System of Maryland, USA
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA
Beyond Arctic PASSION is Funded by the European Union, Grant agreement ID: 101295797 under the call "Improving and integrating polar observation systems in response to user requirements at local, regional, and international level", HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-10.
Read the press realise from the Coordinator, British Antarctic Survey is here: https://beyond.arcticpassion.eu/blog/going-beyond-arctic-passion.
Beyond Arctic PASSION website: www.beyond-arcticpassion.eu