Switzerland and the Arctic: Closer Than You Think by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and ETH Zurich The Arctic hosts about 75 mammals, more than 200 birds and over 3000 insect species. The Arctic land and sea boast an estimated 22% of global oil and 30% of gas reserves. Greenland lost about 4,000 billion tonnes of ice since 1992 caused the mean sea level to rise by about 1 centimetre. It is estimated that more than half of Russia’s oil and gas reserves lies in the Arctic region18 and the country plans to increase their extraction. While Canada put exploration of Arctic oil reserves on hold, Norway and the United States also ramped up their activities related to the extraction of Arctic oil. Several severe problems are linked to resource extraction. First, the depletion and burning of oil and gas causes new greenhouse gas emissions. The 6th IPCC report clearly states that the global community has to stop burning fossil fuels. Second, and as a consequence, global warming and related developments such as ocean acidification are considered the biggest threat to Arctic biodiversity. Finally, the drillings are - still - subject to high risk due to the difficult climatic conditions for work and rescue operations. The ecosystem may not be able to recover at all or only slowly in case of an oil spill. The recent oil spill disaster in June 2020 in Norilsk, Russia, exemplifies the high costs of disasters in Arctic regions. Clean-up efforts may take years and cost up to USD 1.5 billion. First, given the Swiss expertise on alpine and glacial environments, Switzerland could help establish a new working group in the Arctic Council to deal with the sustainable development of infrastructure. Switzerland could - if geopolitical tensions and disputes increase - advocate for the arrangement of a regional security order through the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Switzerland could offer its Good Offices to facilitate the peaceful resolution of disputes in the Arctic.