The

Ny-Ålesund Ny-Ålesund ("New Ålesund") is a small town in Oscar II Land in the west of the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. It is situated on the Brøgger peninsula (Brøggerhalvøya) and on the shore of the bay of Kongsfjorden. The company town is owned ...

Symposium is an annual high level international event where top researchers and politicians, senior business executives, representatives of

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s and other decision makers meet to share experiences and to discuss climate change solutions.

Description

The first Symposium was arranged in March 2006. His Royal Highness

Crown Prince Haakon Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal fami ...

of Norway is patron of the Symposium. The topics are related to the challenges of climate change, other environmental issues, and issues directly connected to the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

and the Northern areas which could have major global consequences. Participation is limited to 45 people, by invitation only. The Symposium takes place on

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

at 79 degrees north. It is the world's northernmost permanent settlement and is only 1200 km from the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. The Norwegian Government has transformed this former mining community into a major base for scientific research and

environmental monitoring Environmental monitoring is the processes and activities that are done to characterize and describe the state of the environment. It is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, and in many circumstances in which human activit ...

in the Arctic. The base hosts scientists from more than 20 nations and plays an important role in international

climate change research The history of the scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect was first identified. In the late 19th centu ...

. It is owned and operated by the governmental company Kings Bay AS, a coal mining company in earlier days. The scenery is exceptional, with a backdrop of unspoiled Arctic nature. The purpose of the Symposium is to exchange knowledge, improve the understanding and seek solutions of the challenging impacts these issues have both on the Arctic regions and internationally. The Symposium is organized by Kings Bay AS in cooperation with the

Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research The Royal Ministry of Education and Research (, KD; full name: ''Det kongelige kunnskapsdepartement'') is a Norwegian government ministry responsible for education, research, kindergartens and integration. The ministry was established in 1814 a ...

, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Justice and the Police, and the

Research Council of Norway The Research Council (also the Research Council of Norway; ) is a Norwegian government agency that funds research and innovation projects. On behalf of the Government, the Research Council invests NOK 11,7 billion (2022) annually. The Research ...

. Statkraft AS is a co-organizer and sponsor of the Symposium. The secretariat is by Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo (CICERO).

Themes

The main themes for the symposia have been: *2006 - The changing Arctic - new opportunities and challenges *2007 - The changing Arctic - global climate change - the need for action *2008 - Global climate change and research challenges *2009 - Climate change: Understanding global politics towards Copenhagen and beyond *2010 - The Changing Arctic and Its Global Implications *2011 - ''cancelled due to volcanic ash cloud'' *2012 - Towards a

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without environmental degradation, degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological econ ...

: the role of technology *2013 - The Changing Arctic - Opportunity or Threat *2014 - Breaking the Climate Stalemate

References

Climate change conferences Recurring events established in 2006 Svalbard {{climate-change-stub