Nations around the world urgently need scientific cooperation to understand and mitigate the accelerating climate crisis in the Arctic, and the partnership between Russia and China serves as a positive example
Friday, November 21, 2025
By Gong Zhe
Nations around the world urgently need scientific cooperation to understand and mitigate the accelerating climate crisis in the Arctic, and the partnership between Russia and China serves as a positive example, according to Professor Sergey Chalov from Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Chalov, who delivered a keynote speech at the Beijing Forum on Saturday, told CGTN in an exclusive interview about the critical role of rivers in northern Eurasian and highlighted China's indispensable geographic and scientific contribution to the effort.
Chalov's research focuses on how rivers in northern Eurasia transport carbon into the Arctic Ocean. He identified the region as a global "hotspot," experiencing the most significant increase in global temperatures. This warming, he explained, is triggering a vicious, accelerating cycle - as temperatures rise, massive stores of carbon are released from melting ice and permafrost.
Human activities are "accelerating" the climate change in the Arctic, Chalov said. The carbon carried by rivers feeds into the ocean, leading to increased emissions into the atmosphere and causing the entire climatic system to operate "faster and faster."
China: An indispensable partner
When addressing the importance of collaboration, Chalov dismissed the notion of isolating climate science, saying the Arctic is fundamentally "an area for international cooperation" because the "climatic system is the one single unit."
He provided a compelling geographic argument for China's pivotal role, noting that major rivers flowing into the Arctic, such as the Yenisei River and its tributaries, originate in China.
"Many processes which are going in China directly affects the Arctic," Chalov said, underscoring the need for joint research.
Chalov said he was pleased that China mentioned the expansion of international scientific cooperation in the proposal for the country's 15th Five-Year Plan.
The partnership is anchored by a new institutional platform - a joint research center established by Moscow State University and Peking University.
The Russian scientist spoke candidly about the technological benefits of the collaboration, expressing that they have "a lot to learn from the experience of Chinese scientists," particularly in the critical area of modeling. He described the partnership as a meeting between the two countries "at the top of science."
In closing, Chalov made a broader appeal to the public, urging individuals to treat the environment as "our home" and to protect it just as we keep our homes tidy.
CGTN