The Nordic One Health and Climate Change Conference 2023

The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) recently (2021) published their new report summarising the current state of climate and scenarios for the future. We are already seeing what they predicted: increasing shifts in climate conditions which will cause more extreme weather events and their consequences (drought, wildfire, floods, erosion, and landslides). Unfortunately, climate change and its impacts are expected to be even more severe in northern regions than in other parts of the globe; thus highlighting the need for a dedicated conference on One Health and climate change in northern regions. Simultaneously the region is increasingly stressed by amplifying anthropogenic disturbances in the way of landscape change, shipping, and accelerated economic development. The flora and fauna of the Arctic are adapted to a highly seasonal environment with extremes in temperature and humidity and as this landscape changes the stressors on the endemic flora and fauna increase and invasive species become more common. The overarching purpose of this event is to establish the first One Health and Climate Change conference in Norway that will have a focus on Northern and Arctic regions. This event will directly support and contribute to the 4th International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV) Process (2022-2026). ICARP IV is currently in Phase 2 of “Seeking community input”. One Health is arguably one of the most important themes for humanities future. However, This conference will thus highlight this research gap for the ICARP IV engagement process.