Wednesday, 7th October 2026, from 12:00 to 13:30 h. CEST (UTC+2). Venue: Salón de actos del Campus CSIC (Calle Serrano 117, Madrid).
The Antarctic Treaty and the Arctic order were born of the same wager: to remove the poles from great-power competition and entrust them instead to scientific cooperation. Though this exceptionalism has always played out differently in the North and the South, it is now coming under strain in an increasingly competitive and less cooperative global environment.
While Antarctica remains a space of peace, scientific research and a vantage point for observing global climate change, the Arctic has become a region in transition —one where melting ice is opening new trade routes, competition over natural resources is intensifying, and remilitarisation is reigniting global tensions.
How is climate change reshaping the geopolitics and governance of the poles? What role should polar research play in anticipating future change and guiding the decisions that lie ahead in the coming decades? How has Spain built its position in Antarctica and the Arctic, and what responsibilities does this entail?
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), with 40 years of Antarctic research programmes behind it, and the Elcano Royal Institute bring together science, security and geopolitics to examine the challenges and the future of these remote regions.
Hashtag: #GeopolíticaPolar
Participants:
Welcome:
- Eloísa del Pino, President, CSIC | @delPinoE
- José Juan Ruiz, presidente, Real Instituto Elcano
Roundtable:
- Fernando Bohoyo, Technical Secretary of the Spanish Polar Committee; Research Scientist at the CN Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC) | @IGME1849
- Carlota Escutia, Research Professor at the Andalusian Earth Sciences Institute (IACT-CSIC) | @IACT_CSIC
- Lara Lázaro, Senior Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute | @lazarotouza
- Mira Milosevich, Senior Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute | @MiraMilosevich1
- Moderator: Áurea Moltó, Director of ElcanoNET, Elcano Royal Institute | @aureamolto
Organised by:
– The event will be held in Spanish without simultaneous translation.
– To attend this event, prior registration is required via this CSIC form.
Image: Village in the Arctic. Photo: Posnov / Getty Images.
