science
Arctic Frontiers 2026:
U.S. Researcher Warns Europe: “You Are Only an Election Away”
Tromsø, Northern Norway (High North News): “The changes we have seen in the last year with the attacks on science in America are absolutely devastating. But we see similar things happening in Europe, too,” says American Professor Åsa Rennermalm.
Published
Professor of Geography Dr. Åsa Rennermalm is a physical geographer specializing in climate change, hydrology, and glaciology of the polar regions. Recently, she visited the Arctic Frontiers conference in the Norwegian Arctic with a stark warning:
“The changes we've seen in the last year with the attacks on science in America are absolutely devastating. But we see similar things happening in Europe, too, with funds being diverted to military buildup and production of weapons.”
Rennermalm emphasizes that she speaks as a scientist, not as an employee, although she works at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She is also part of the American Geophysical Union in Washington.
"We need science"
The professor, who was born in Sweden and educated in Europe, states that it is not the tense geopolitical situation that should worry us in the long run. Behind the clash of the titans, the Arctic is still melting away.
“The long-term security issue of the Arctic is climate change, environmental degradation and pollution. To understand what's going on, we need science. We may know on a big picture level what is going on, but there's much to uncover still as we don't know exactly how climate change is going to unfold.”
People can't even agree on what is reliable information
Paradox
“We do not know how it's going to play out in local communities across the Arctic. To understand that we need to collect data on the ground, make observations, analyze, run models and collaborate.”
She calls it a paradox that science is under increasing threats of being diminished in the world at this crucial time.
Under Donald Trump’s fist and Vladimir Putin's aggression, Rennermalm sees some alarming trends, such as the erosion of trust in expert knowledge and evidence, due to mis- and disinformation.
What truth?
“In the United States, people can't even agree on what is reliable information. When we cannot even agree on the truth, that’s a huge issue for our security. How are we going to work together if we cannot agree on the basics?" the American scientist asks.
The devastation is evident in her eyes.
The scientific world has crumbled before our eyes, as the world was focused on the big powers and on making weapons.
Cracking foundation
High North News catches Rennermalm one hour before her flight back home to New Jersey, USA. The visit to Northern Norway has been an eye-opener.
How challenging is it to be a scientist in the U.S. today?
“It’s shocking what's happened in the United States in the last year, with friends losing their jobs and grants being pulled.”
She describes it as the ground cracking beneath them.
A lost generation
The threat of dismantling important institutions like the National Center of Atmospheric Research, “one of the most important research institutions in the world”, affects her, along with the sorrow of losing a new generation of scientists.
“The pathways to becoming scientists are becoming more difficult, and people are anxious, wondering what the next step in their careers will be. We have young scientists from all over the world. Are their jobs going to disappear?”
Rennermalm explains that it will not be noticed right away, but maybe in five to ten years.
“It will be difficult to put your finger on what is lost. When you walk in the forest listening to birds, you might not notice that two species have disappeared. Yet it has affected the entire forest in a way that you might not see. And we will not even know that we have lost them.”
Dominated by white men
She also fears that the diversity among Arctic researchers will decrease and that research will be dominated by white men, and that the involvement of Indigenous Peoples in the United States will get worse.
Russia has the largest landmass in the Arctic, almost 50 percent. Since the war, Russian collaboration in almost all areas has been lost.
Rennermalm calls it “an incredible tragedy”.
I have colleagues who are afraid to travel to the United States
A warning
“We are losing Russian research stations. Observations from Russia are incredibly central to understanding what's going on with the Arctic on a larger scale. The loss of that international collaboration is devastating.”
And now, the USA withdraws from international collaboration on many levels.
“I have colleagues who are afraid to travel to the United States for meetings.”
An election away
Rennermalm issues a warning that goes out to all of Europe.
“You may look at the United States and say it will not happen in Europe, but it can. The same forces are operating there, and you're an election away from a similar sort of deterioration of the scientific infrastructure.”
She asks her European colleagues to look at their own institutions. How safe are they? What happens if the extreme right wins elections? It will be a completely different Europe.
Get organized
“If this happens in Europe and Canada, research will die because there will be no one to keep it alive. And research in the Nordic countries is already being downgraded at the expense of security.”
The solution? Get organized.
“Get ready to speak out, like we're doing in the United States. We're fighting in courts and standing up, expressing our alternative vision for the future,” she says, holding up a paper.
It is a letter of protest in support of Greenland and the people’s right to determine their own future.
“It's signed by over 200 scientists in the United States, all of whom have been working in Greenland or do science about Greenland.”
The long-term vision is a peaceful Arctic where all 8 states work together and cross each other’s borders, including Russia.
Called brave
As a researcher in the US, it is difficult to speak out. But Rennermalm does anyway.
“What I said in Tromsø was not that special, but I got a lot of reactions for being so 'brave'. That made me a little anxious,” she admits.
“But it is the end of the world if we cannot say anything about climate change. It was fantastic to come to a conference like Arctic Frontiers to see researchers, politicians and representatives from the Sami and Inuit, from Canada too, together. While the US is taking several steps back in time.”
Not everyone is 'crazy'
She urges all scientists to explain why research is important and finds it sad that an extreme picture of the USA is painted in the Nordics, where everyone is deemed crazy.
“It is a large country with a lot of diversity and many "normal" people who are fighting for research not to disappear. We are working with Congress not to close research institutions.”
Yet, the National Snow and Ice Data Center will no longer be updated. Nor will the Arctic Report Card. The public will no longer know how much damage a storm has caused.
“They've even cut the weather forecast. Don't we want to know the weather anymore? Also, there are cuts in health and medicine. It's hard to understand, but I realize that my values are not the same as the country I live in.”
What is happening in the U.S. now should never happen
Should never happen
Have you ever thought about moving away from the US?
“I’m open to it, but I haven’t looked into it that much. It’s still ok where I am in many ways. But my research is on the Greenland ice sheet, and I probably won’t get any more funding for that going forward. I think Norway might be a good option.”
Rennermalm pauses as her flight is called through the airport speaker.
“I don't know what organizations exist in Scandinavia. I just want to share that what is happening in the U.S. now should never happen. I thought we had systems in place to prevent this.”
