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Davos 2022

Our camp is set up outside the iconic Berghotel Schatzalp where we will again sleep at night and speak science to power during the day. Our events start on Sunday 22 May through to Thursday 26 May.

What we do

We are a team of Arctic experts and scientists who ‘speak science to power’ in order to encourage bold climate action.

Arctic Basecamp was created by Professor Gail Whiteman, as a vehicle to bring this message of Arctic risk to global leaders. We work with global scientists and world-class organisations and individuals raising awareness of the global risks from Arctic change and to highlight the urgent need for scalable solutions to climate change.

Our flagship event brings the Arctic to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting at Davos where we set up a real Arctic science basecamp, with an expedition tent acting as our workplace during the day and our dormitory at night, camping in sub-zero temperatures calling for action from global leaders to apply responsive and responsible leadership to address global risks from Arctic change.

In 2021, when Covid-19 meant that we couldn’t meet face to face we took our Arctic Basecamp online. We hosted a high level panel as part of the Davos Agenda followed by a virtual programme of engaging content.

We attended COP26 in November 2021 where we launched the prototype of a brand new Arctic Risk Platform – the next iteration of our work.

We will be attending the rescheduled WEF Annual Meeting in Davos in summer 2022.

WHY we are raising the #arcticalarm

The Arctic is the poster child for the need to stay below the +1.5C emissions target, and it’s warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Climate Research shows a strong and direct correlation with rising CO2 emissions and loss of Arctic ice. Science shows that the Arctic is the barometer of global risk — what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay there. Research shows that rapid Arctic warming is linked to extreme weather farther south. Be it frigid cold spells, prolonged floods, persistent warmth, or long dry spells.

Every mid-September, the Arctic summer sea ice melts to its lowest point. Currently, the Arctic ice is tracking at an all-time low. Greenland is melting significantly and Arctic peatland fires are raging. This is a worrying sign of climate change. All of the data show that the Arctic is in crisis – this large system has entered an ‘unprecedented state’.

Summer sea ice has been around for thousands of years, it may be gone soon, unless we bend the emissions curve
#ArcticAlarm

What's at stake in the Arctic is actually the future of humanity itself

– Professor Gail Whiteman, founder of Arctic Basecamp

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Davos Agenda 2021

January 2021 we hosted a high level panel followed by Make Earth Cool Again – an engaging schedule of online conversations and entertainment.

Davos 2020

January 2020 we set up the Arctic Basecamp at the World Economic Forum (WEF) once again.

United Nations Climate Week

In September, the United Nations 2019 Climate Summit convened on the theme, ‘A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win.’