Arctic Transportation Futures: Reconciling Local Needs and Global Drivers

Statement and recommendations for future Arctic transportation research planning, following a one-day transdisciplinary workshop at the University of Vienna and online, September 25, 2025.

Workshop Statement and Recommendations (PDF)

Arctic transportation futures are at a crossroads. Increasing global connectivity, climate change, geopolitical tensions, tourism, and resource extraction are reshaping mobility and access across the region. At the same time, Northern communities depend on transportation systems that are essential to sustain local livelihoods and cultural practices, yet these systems have historically served external interests more than local priorities. Reconciling these global drivers with local perspectives is both a strategic necessity and a governance challenge – one that the 4th International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV) process must address to inform future Arctic transportation research planning.

Recognizing this need, the European Research Council (ERC) project InfraNorth organized the workshop “Arctic Transportation Futures: Reconciling Local Needs and Global Drivers” on September 25, 2025, at the University of Vienna, Austria, with financial support from the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Invited online and in-person participants represented government organizations, regional planning authorities, private businesses, and research institutions from Arctic and non-Arctic countries, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices.

Workshop statement and recommendations

At the conclusion of the one-day workshop, participants acknowledged the relevance of Arctic transport systems (ATS) for the quality of life in Northern communities and identified key recommendations for more inclusive and sustainable ATS research and planning:

  1. The overarching principle and priority should be that ATS benefit local communities. We understand that the development of ATS is increasingly driven by national and international interests, be they military or economic, including moves toward a “green transition”. Still, meaningful engagement and co-creation with Indigenous and local rights- and stakeholders should be the norm. This includes greater transparency and accountability of all the actors. While we need to acknowledge conflicts of interest where they exist, the goal should be informed consent through dialogue.
  2. The cumulative impacts of ATS on environments and societies need to be considered. This should include monitoring post-construction impacts and effects, as well as mechanisms in place to address unintended consequences. While ATS are important for people, their effects on the natural environment must not be neglected.
  3. There should be increased international collaboration, such as regional cross-border planning for ATS or their use in search and rescue (SAR) operations. While regional and international transport planning should result in mutual benefits for regions and countries, it should not be used to the detriment of local communities.
  4. ATS are closely tied to economic development, including the development of tourism. The example of tourism shows the interconnectedness of different forms of Arctic infrastructures, as it is not enough to have expanded ATS, if there are no facilities to accommodate the tourists (or the workers) arriving with them. From a local perspective, ATS need to provide supply security, which points to the fact that ATS need to contribute to the preparedness of the logistics systems of a given community or region.
  5. ATS are an exemplary field where more transdisciplinary knowledge co-creation, through a dialogue between science and society, is needed. We need to strengthen co-operation between planners, society and science, based on open communication and the free dissemination of research results. A precondition for such relationships is mutual trust, which can only be achieved through ongoing engagement.

Closing remarks

The workshop “Arctic Transportation Futures: Reconciling Local Needs and Global Drivers” brought together a diverse group of participants to address the prospects of new and existing transport routes to, from, and within the circumpolar North at a time of high uncertainty shaped by climate change, geopolitical tensions, and economic shifts. It provided a platform for knowledge exchange, discussion of regional and circumpolar transport challenges, and consideration of strategies for sustainable and inclusive transport futures.

By integrating local and global perspectives – including voices from Indigenous and non-Indigenous Arctic communities, planners, policymakers, and researchers across disciplines – the workshop underscored that successful Arctic transport initiatives increasingly depend on meaningful local engagement alongside national and international political and economic support. This exchange of ideas highlighted both shared challenges and region-specific dynamics, contributing valuable insights to inform future Arctic transportation research planning.

With support from the International Arctic Science Committee: