Symposiums on Plastics in the Arctic

Plastic pollution is of ever-growing concern. Plastic litter is omnipresent in our environment, and the eventual destination for much plastic waste is the ocean. Even in the Arctic, plastic pollution is widespread, and there is great urgency to act.

In March 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a mandate to negotiate a new legally binding international agreement to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. Negotiations are ongoing. The volume of scientific research on plastic pollution has grown rapidly in recent decades, and it is essential that solutions build on the best available knowledge. To that end, Iceland and the Nordic Council of Ministers hosted a Symposium on Plastics in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic Region in March 2021, where participants made a clear call for a follow-up.

That call led the Government of Iceland, with financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers, to host the Second International Symposium on Plastics in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic Region on 22–23 November 2023. Building on the first symposium, it gathered scientific, local and Indigenous knowledge about plastic pollution, discussed ways to reduce the impact of plastics on Arctic ecosystems, and formulated advice for decision makers, which was particularly relevant to the negotiations for an international agreement.

Given the gravity of the issue and the constant flow of new research, the Government of Iceland is convening a third symposium: Atlantic Plastics 2026, the Third International Symposium on Marine Plastic Pollution: Arctic to the Antarctic, at Harpa, Reykjavík, on 20–22 October 2026. See the Program.

Summaries of the first two symposia are available below: