On June 6^th,2019, the keynote speech “Rapid Climate Change in the Arctic: Why Everybody Should Care?” sponsored by SPPM and catered by CIDEG and THSDG, was held in the reception hall, main building, Tsinghua University.

The speech was given by John P. Holdren, former Chief Science Advisor to President Obama, professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Kennedy School of Government and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University as well as Visiting Distinguished Professor, Tsinghua University. And the speech was hosted by Xue Lan, Distinguished Professor of arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Dean of Schwarzman Scholars and Director of CIDEG. Henry Lee, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Pan Jie, professor of SPPM, Tsinghua University; Chen Ling, Associate professor of SPPM, Tsinghua University and Deputy Director of CIDEG, Tsinghua University; Zhao Jing, Assistant Director of CIDEG, Tsinghua University, Zhang Fang, Assistant of Prof. Holdren attended the speech. More than 200 students and scholars both inside and outside the school attended the lecture.

Introduction：

Temperatures are increasing in the Arctic 2 to 4 times faster than the global average rate of warming. Sea ice and snow cover are shrinking; glaciers and the great Greenland ice sheet are likewise shrinking，thus contributing to sea-level rise; permafrost is thawing; wildfires are becoming larger and more frequent, and the Arctic Ocean is becoming less saline and more acidic.  

The reduction of sea-ice cover is opening up new opportunities for navigation, fishing, and resource development, but with these opportunities come new requirements for monitoring, governance, and regulation. Still more challenging are the impacts of all of the changes on Arctic communities, infrastructure, and wildlife, as well as on the pace of climate change and sea-level rise worldwide.

In this talk, Dr. Holdren will first summarize the latest science relating to climate change in the Arctic and its impacts in the region and worldwide. Then he will discuss the efforts that are underway to improve our detailed understanding of what is happening and to address the array of challenges that result. He will close by discussing what further actions from the global community are required.

Keynote Speaker：John Holdren 

Dr. John P. Holdren served as President Obama’s Science Advisor and the Senate-confirmed Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from January 2009 to January 2017. Meanwhile, he is professor of Environmental Science and Policy of Kennedy School and professor of Government and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University. In May 2008, he was appointed as Visiting Distinguished Professor of Tsinghua University. He was also a senior adviser to Woods Hole Research Center, the world's leading Think-Tank on climate change and policy. 

Professor Holdren was the longest-serving presidential Science Adviser in U.S. history. During his tenure in the White House, Professor Holdren put forward proposals on issues of Science and Technology, including energy and climate change, oceans, Arctic regions and space program. He teaches courses on energy-climate challenges, domestic and international science and technology policy, and arctic policy and social innovation at Harvard University.

In recent years, Professor Holdren has been active in the field of climate change and arctic governance, and has visited China several times. In 2016, Vice Premier of the State Council LIU Yandong met with him to discuss China-US scientific and technological cooperation in fields such as energy and environment. In 2018, Professor Holdren visited Tsinghua University and exchanged views on deepening cooperation in global climate change, sustainable development and low-carbon energy and other fields with QIU Yong, President of Tsinghua University and YANG Bin, Vice President and Provost of Tsinghua University and other Chinese experts. He also delivered a speech on Climate Change and the International Community's Response to Challenges in the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University.