Written evidence submitted by the British Antarctic Survey and NERC Arctic Office (CLI0009)

Summary

 The Polar Regions are the regions on Earth most sensitive to climate change. What happens in the remote Polar Regions affects every person on this planet through the inter-related complexities of our global Earth system.  International collaboration and environmental diplomacy enable UK polar scientists to undertake world-class research in remote and challenging polar environments on topics such as climate change, environmental management, non-native species, biosecurity, sustainable fishing and tourism.  The British Antarctic Survey and the NERC Arctic Office work closely with the FCO to deliver highly significant IPCC reports on climate change in the Polar Regions, and to enable participation in the Arctic Council’s Working Groups, Expert Groups and Taskforces.  The FCO Polar Regions Department works with the UK and international science community on award-winning education programmes for schools, public and international audiences.

Submitted by: Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director British Antarctic Survey Henry Burgess, Head of NERC Arctic Office Linda Capper, Head of Communications, British Antarctic Survey

1. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is a Research Centre of the Natural Environment Research Council (UKRI-NERC) based in Cambridge, whose focus is science in the Polar Regions. In this role BAS works closely with the Polar Regions Department of the FCO.

2. The mission of BAS is to undertake world class science in the Polar Regions and to be the UK permanent presence in Antarctica and in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI). This is outlined in a formal MoU between BAS, UKRI-NERC, FCO, and BEIS.

3. This dual mission, both science and presence, ensures that BAS is integral to the diplomatic strategy of the FCO through its Polar Regions department. In the same way, the NERC Arctic Office, hosted in BAS, works with the FCO for the Arctic (see below). BAS and the NERC Arctic Office provide support of various kinds for the whole UK science community (particularly university researchers) to undertake research in the polar regions and enables the FCO to draw on the expertise of the UK science community.

4. Science in the Polar Regions has never been of higher global importance than today. The Polar Regions are the regions on Earth most sensitive to climate change and it is these areas in which environmental change happens first and to the greatest degree. Evidence for this includes the rapid decrease of sea-ice in the Arctic, which is influencing the climate and weather of NW Europe in particular. In Antarctica massive ice shelves are melting from below, destabilising glaciers and contributing to the rise of sea level across the planet.

5. Antarctica: What happens in the remote Polar Regions affects every person on this planet through the inter-related complexities of our global Earth system. Research to understand Polar climate change and its impact on the global population has to be done at an international scale and through the collaborative expertise of a wide range of scientific disciplines. Antarctic science follows this approach.

6. The Antarctic continent (south of 60°S) is a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science. It is governed by the 54 countries that are currently part of the Antarctic Treaty System, agreeing that Antarctica is used for peaceful and scientific purposes only, with no military presence except to support science or Treaty activities. The Antarctic Treaty, which came into force in 1961, promotes international cooperation, shared scientific observations and shared personnel between national programmes. National territorial claims are in abeyance.

7. The Treaty has been recognised as one of the most successful international agreements and remains in force indefinitely. It provides that any party can call for a review conference after 30 years of its existence (1991) but no party has ever done so, recognising the Treaty’s continued strength and relevance. The Treaty does not expire in 2048. BAS works with the FCO’s Polar Regions Department to promote awareness and education about the Treaty System, as it is important to correct misunderstandings, especially about the protection the Treaty provides for the continent, which are commonly promulgated.

8. The annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), attended by all member national parties, ensures that the Treaty is maintained, and Antarctica is preserved for peace and science. The UK is represented at the ATCM by members of the FCO (the Head of the FCO Polar Regions Department is the Head of the UK Delegation), the Director of BAS and the logistics director of BAS. The UK presents many papers at the meeting and has recently led discussions on how Antarctic nations could enhance collaboration to promote international climate science and the impact of changes in Antarctica on the global system, as well as to consider effective management of activities within Antarctica in light of climate change impacts. The Director of BAS was the first female to chair one of the three Working Groups of the ATCM, covering science, operations, and safety.

9. Two additional conventions are now included in the Treaty in which the UK has leadership roles, involving the FCO working closely with UK scientists. These are the Protocol on Environmental Protection and the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine living Resources (CCAMLR). The Protocol for Environmental Protection and its Committee (CEP), which also meets during the ATCM, ensures that Antarctic environment and ecosystems are protected from activities that may cause damage, resulting from for example, building new research stations, use of drones, impact of tourism etc. It specifically prohibits mining activities. The UK is especially active on CEP, providing the Vice-Chair, and an FCO delegate who works with environmental scientists from BAS. The UK has led on work on climate change, environmental management, non-native species and bio-security and tourism.

10. In addition, the FCO and UK scientists together lead many activities within the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, part of the Treaty system, which aims to conserve marine life. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and its Scientific Committee work with scientists and the fishing industry to support scientific-based management of fishing in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. The UK was chair of the Scientific Committee for four years to 2019. The UK delegation, led by the Head of the FCO Polar Regions department with BAS and CEFAS government scientists, have successfully contributed to new policies to enhance the conservation of the Southern Ocean.

11. BAS scientists developed the scientific case to support the designation of the world’s first Marine Protected Area in international waters, near to the South Orkney Islands, and to secure agreement to protect newly exposed marine areas from the collapse or retreat of ice shelves, such as the area exposed by a large calving event at the Larsen Ice Shelf. BAS have also been instrumental in securing agreement to new fishing practices, such as those adopted by CCAMLR to protect albatross from being killed on long-lines, and in leading work to develop precautionary spatial and temporal measures for krill fishing. The UK is one of only a few CCAMLR Members to include ecosystem and conservation scientists on their delegation, alongside fisheries scientists.

12. The international Antarctic community works together through two other bodies, the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP). SCAR brings together Antarctic scientists to horizon-scan for future science questions and to provide a platform to enhance international science collaborations. The UK is an active member of SCAR and UK scientists have been lead authors on a number of SCAR scientific reports, including the highly significant ‘Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment’ report, which is currently undergoing its first decadal review.

13. As one of the leading nations in terms of volume and impact of Antarctic science, second only to the United States (Gray and Hughes, 2016, Polar Research 35:1, 34061), the UK is seen as a partner of choice for international scientific collaborations. One of the most ambitious scientific programmes to date is the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, a partnership between the US and the UK (NSF and UKRI-NERC) to investigate the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Nearly 100 scientists and support staff are part of a five year programme to understand the glacier, the surrounding ocean system and its future contribution to global sea level rise. This $50 million programme involving US and UK, along with Sweden, Germany and South Korea, could only be undertaken by collaboration of world-leading scientists and sharing of challenging logistics in one of the most remote and inhospitable regions on Earth.

14. COMNAP is a forum of the logistics operators across Antarctica, encouraging sharing of logistics, encouraging the highest safety standards and supporting less experienced nations to maintain the exceptional collaborations that Antarctica promotes. The UK strives to maintain the highest environmental and safety standards in its Antarctic operations to demonstrate best practice. The UK’s most recent Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation for the redevelopment of the wharf at BAS’s main station, Rothera, received very positive feedback from Antarctic Treaty Parties. BAS has also pioneered a range of technologies to support scientific work in remote locations and over the Antarctic winter season, as has been demonstrated at Halley station in recent years.

15. The Antarctic Treaty’s Intersessional Contact Group on Education and Outreach, with members from many of the Treaty parties, work together to promote the educational value of Antarctic research. This group cites the UK’s initiatives to connect science with society as exemplars (Xavier et al, 2019. Polar Record 55: 241-244). Award-winning online educational resources ‘Discovering Antarctica’ and ‘Discovering the Arctic’, developed by FCO’s Polar Regions Department, British Antarctic Survey, the Royal Geographical Society and others, are used not only by UK teachers and students but are shared widely by the international polar community.

16. The Arctic: The environmental impact of change in the Arctic on the UK, and in turn the impact of the UK on the Arctic, is significant and only likely to become more profound. The responsibility of the research community to play its part in understanding this change is unequivocal. The expression of the clarity of the role that Government sees for researchers, as set out in the Arctic policy framework ‘Beyond the Ice’ (2018) is a strong and welcome endorsement.

17. In turn, the UK has a well-established and highly skilled Arctic research community ready to respond to the challenge. Evidence shows that UK-based researchers are 4th in the list of countries with the most Arctic papers in peer-reviewed journals, after the US, Canada and Russia [Arctic Research Publication Trends: A Pilot Study, University of the Arctic et al, August 2016]. Just as importantly, the evidence shows that those researchers are particularly strong at collaborating internationally, with two-thirds of those published papers having international co-authors.

18. The NERC Arctic Office, hosted by the British Antarctic Survey, has a clear remit to support UK-based researchers in the Arctic; provide advice to policy and decision- makers; and to find new opportunities for researchers to join international research initiatives. In delivering against this remit the NERC Arctic Office has developed strong connections with the UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN) over the last four years, both the central teams in Whitehall, and the individual teams, in particular those based in or responsible for Canada, Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and the US. The NERC Arctic Office is also represented on the FCO-chaired Cross-Whitehall Arctic Network.

19. These connections, and the strong support provided by the FCO and BEIS-supported SIN teams, as well as other teams in British Embassies and High Commissions, and the Polar Regions Department have been instrumental in helping to build new partnerships between institutions and research groups; supporting the establishment of new large and diverse research networks and consortia; opening-up new access to infrastructure; providing access to valuable new data-sets; building links between early career researchers; and enabling UK-based researchers and logistics capability to have strong visibility in international and influential settings. 20. From the perspective of the NERC Arctic Office these have been immensely valuable in increasing the capacity of UK-based researchers to work in collaboration to better understand and respond to environmental change in the Arctic. Such approaches can pay dividends in terms of environmental diplomacy, but also in the practical day to day work of researchers. The NERC Arctic Office is keen to see these links develop and grow even stronger.

21. The targeted support provided by the FCO to allow researchers to participate in the work of the Arctic Council’s various Working Groups, Expert Groups and Taskforces is also welcomed. It provides important visibility and allows for the opportunity to influence the development of advice, guidelines and procedures. The scale of the Arctic Council’s agenda is such that there are many other opportunities to engage than are currently able to be supported.

22. The British Antarctic Survey is pleased to support the UK’s environmental diplomacy in the Polar Regions, through our scientific work and by directly supporting UK delegations and objectives at Antarctic Treaty meetings and through Arctic Council working groups. BAS has also played a leading role in recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including their Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which feeds into the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

23. Recommendation: The UK polar science community is well-placed to play a major role at the next UNFCCC Conference of Parties, COP26, to be hosted by the UK in 2021. Its world-class research on climate change in the Polar Regions, and the consequent impact on the whole planet and its population, can demonstrate the urgency to enhance global ambition towards net zero carbon emissions. If timing and location permits, the impressive new UK research icebreaker, RRS Sir David Attenborough and its state-of-the- art scientific facilities would provide a focus to demonstrate the UK’s ongoing scientific climate excellence for participants and media.

24. As indicated above, polar science is collaborative on an international scale so through its exhibits and activities the UK science community would also naturally demonstrate the achievements of the many nations that work together for science in the Polar Regions.

May 2020