The Arctic is of special importance to the world and it is changing rapidly. It is thus essential that decision makers have the latest and best information available regarding ongoing changes in the Arctic. This report is a plain language synthesis of the key findings of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), designed to make the scientific findings accessible to policymakers and the broader public. The ACIA is a comprehensively research, fully references, and independently reviewed evaluations of arctic climate change and its impacts for the region and for the world. It has involved an international effort by hundreds of scientists over four years, and also includes special knowledge of indigenous peoples.
The Arctic Council called for this assessment, and charged two of its working groups, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) and the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), along with the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), with its implementation. Recognizing the central importance of the Arctic and this information to society as it contemplates responses to the growing challenge of climate change, the cooperating organizations are honored to forward this report to the Arctic Council and the international science community.