Critical Minerals in the Arctic: Forging the Path Forward

Wednesday, July 12–Thursday, July 13 // 9:00 am–4:30 pm (ET)

On July 12 and 13, the Wilson Center, in partnership with the University of Alaska, Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office, and RAND Corporation, is hosting a two-day dialogue about critical minerals in the North American Arctic. The dialogue will develop policy recommendations for development of critical mineral resources in the Arctic, in the context of US national security, energy, climate, and technology goals.

This dialogue will be solutions-oriented, producing actionable policy and investment recommendations. There are three distinct elements of the agenda: six individual working sessions, focusing on community ownership, financing, infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, supply chains, and workforce development; a tabletop exercise quantifying risk prioritization in minerals development, and three public keynote sessions.

Proceedings from the tabletop exercise and briefs from the working sessions will be publicly available once finalized.

This dialogue builds upon the inaugural August 2022 conference, entitled Alaska's Minerals: A Strategic National Imperative, hosted by the University of Alaska, US Arctic Research Commission, and Wilson Center.

Still To Come This Week

No Water, No Food – Glacier Loss Threats to US and Chinese Agriculture

Thursday, July 13 // 9:30–10:30 am (ET)

For 40 years, elite glacier scientists Lonnie and Ellen Thompson (Ohio State University) and Tandong Yao (Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research) have been working together in the Third Pole. They were some of the first scientists to sound the alarm on our changing climate and what it meant for the world’s glaciers.

The panelists, who have climbed countless mountains together, will share their experience studying climate impacts in the Third Pole and discuss the glacier-food nexus in the United States and China. The nearly $14 billion of fruit, grain, potatoes, and hops grown in Washington, Oregon and Idaho are all irrigated by melt water from glaciers. The glacier-fed cotton and grain fields of northwest China are the most vulnerable in the face of climate change. Maintaining or expanding crops in these regions may be unsustainable with the loss of glaciers driving water scarcity.