(Science|Business) EU polar research melts into the background

For the original publication, please click here.

Look at the headline figures, and Horizon Europe is on track to invest €244 million less in polar research than its predecessor programme, Horizon 2020. The European Commission argues that the funding is there, only organised in different ways.

“Horizon 2020 prioritised isolated scientific disciplines and standalone polar networks, while Horizon Europe focuses on cross-sectoral, policy-driven systemic transformations,” a Commission spokesperson told Science|Business. “The mechanisms driving polar research funding have matured from fragmented investments into highly integrated, collaborative initiatives.”

This reading is not disputed by the research community, but it is not happy with the lower profile of polar science, nor with the prospect that this will continue in the next iteration of Horizon Europe.

As of January 2025, Horizon Europe had spent €246 million on research involving the Arctic and Antarctic, down from €544 million under Horizon 2020. There is little sign that the €298 million shortfall will be made up in the final years of the programme.

Only one call for proposals in 2025 directly supported research in the polar regions, targeting observation systems, with an indicative budget of €16 million. In 2027, another two calls are expected to back research on the poles: €22 million will be set aside for work to better understand the functioning of the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic cryosphere; and €16 million will go towards research on the impacts, governance and international politics of a future ice-free Arctic. 

Taking these likely commitments into account still leaves Horizon Europe €244 million short of spending under Horizon 2020.

According to the Commission, polar issues can be found in other calls for proposals, just not as their primary focus. For example, one €30 million call asks researchers to address Earth system risks, including the loss of ice sheets. Another offers €12 million to projects seeking to understand how spaces beyond national jurisdiction, such as the unappropriated polar regions, might be governed.

The Commission also pointed to new instruments in Horizon Europe, such as the EU Mission for restoring the ocean and waters, which tests solutions in the Atlantic-Arctic basin, and the Joint Earth System Science Initiative, under which some Horizon Europe calls on the poles explicitly require consortia to interlock with the polar science cluster of the European Space Agency.

Hidden, not forgotten

Polar research has not been “forgotten” but has become more “hidden,” according to Nicole Biebow, head of the international cooperation unit at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. 

“I don’t think that there has been less funding for polar research in Horizon Europe, but it is differently labelled,” she said. “So, polar research is no longer a standalone topic. It is more included in other calls, such as climate adaptation or ocean observation. It is more connected to overarching topics and not only polar.”

While the figures may add up for this iteration of Horizon Europe, the next “does not look very promising,” she went on, given the EU’s growing focus on defence readiness and technological sovereignty. “There will be money for polar research, but we are not so optimistic that it will continue on such a high level.”

Virginie Robin, vice-president of the European Association of Innovation Consultants, is also concerned that polar research could “get lost in the maze” of all the novel instruments that the Commission plans to introduce from 2028. “Imagine you are working on polar research, where do you look? Pillar 2, the moonshots, the European Competitiveness Fund. . .?”

The poles have a disproportionate influence on climate. As temperatures rise, their reflective ice covers, which normally send sunlight back into space, reveal dark, heat-absorbing ocean surface and land. This leads to further melting, faster warming and, ultimately, to global sea-level rise, altered weather patterns and massive habitat loss for wildlife.

“The polar regions are among the areas most heavily impacted by climate change and other human pressures, [and] their changes have direct consequences for Europe,” said Maria Grigoratou, executive secretary of the European Polar Board. “Continued investment in polar research and polar intelligence is therefore essential for Europe’s resilience, preparedness and strategic decision-making. While the structures [of the EU research programmes] have evolved, it is important to assess what this means in practice for the continuity and visibility of polar research efforts.”