The Arctic is warming faster than any other place on earth. Some recent estimates even indicate that the area could be ice-free during summer from 2040 onwards. With new sea routes opening up and enormous oil and gas reserves to be discovered, Russia is already spending billions to dominate the region. And while China is also laying claim to the area, calling itself a ‘near Arctic state’, other polar powers, such as the US and Canada, are now forced to catch up. Who will control the melting Arctic? And what will happen to environmental protection and the rights of indigenous people? In this lecture Dr Duncan Depledge will discuss what the future holds for the North Pole.

Co-organised by the Utrecht Young Academy and SIB-Utrecht.