Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-14 (section)

=== FAQ 14.3 | What impacts do changes in the North American Arctic have within and outside the region? ===

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''The North American Arctic is warming at nearly three times the global average, creating a cascading web of local, regional and global impacts within and beyond polar regions. Changes in the Arctic not only effect global ocean circulation and climate regulation, but also facilitate new Arctic transportation routes and support transboundary resources with geopolitical, environmental and cultural implications as conditions change.''

Rapid warming and extreme temperatures in the Arctic is leading to unprecedented seasonal sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and increasing ocean temperatures. Cascading from these biophysical changes are cultural, socioeconomic and political consequences that are widespread and largely unprecedented in human history. Changes in sea ice create safety hazards for Indigenous Peoples and northerners who rely on frozen seas and rivers for transportation between remote communities and to subsistence hunting areas. Thawing permafrost, especially that of ice-rich permafrost, creates challenges and costs for a region with low population density and a small tax base to support major infrastructure investments. Warmer ocean temperatures induce large-scale distributional shifts and reduced productivity and access to the largest North American fisheries. Ice-associated marine mammals, such as polar bears, seals and walruses, have declined precipitously with decreasing sea ice in the Bering Sea, and widespread ecosystem changes from fish through birds and marine mammal species have altered the system with uncertain outcomes for these productive ice-driven ecosystems. Newly ice-free shipping routes are increasing regional and geopolitical tensions and may facilitate novel threats like the spread of invasive species and safety hazards to local hunters and fishers. The local and regional impacts of climate change in the North American Arctic are profound and span social, cultural, health, economic and political imperatives.

Although the region is remote, changes in the Arctic impact the rest of the world. The Arctic serves as a regulator of global climate and other ecological processes through large-scale patterns related to air and ocean circulation. These vitally important processes are nearing points beyond which rapid and irreversible (on the scale of multiple human generations) changes are possible. The magnitude of cascading changes over the next two centuries includes regional warming and temperature extremes, permafrost declines and sea ice loss beyond that experienced in human existence. This includes macro-scale risks related to SLR from the melting of glaciers and thermal expansion of oceans. Changes in the Arctic are more pronounced than elsewhere and portend climate-change impacts in other areas of the globe.

Adaptation in the Arctic is underway and lessons learned on what works and what is effective and feasible to implement can provide global insights. Successful adaptation in the North American Arctic region has been attributed, in part, to the explicit and meaningful inclusion of IK and Indigenous self-determination, and diverse perspectives in decision-making processes, strong local leadership, co-management approaches, technological investment in integrated climate modelling and projections, and multilateral cooperation.

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