The second Arctic Science Ministerial aimed to promote the results of the projects presented at the first ASM and to foster further scientific cooperation among a wide number of countries and representatives of Indigenous Peoples and international organisations with Arctic interests.

The ASM2 focused on three themes where an improved and better-coordinated international scientific effort can provide clear opportunities to advance the understanding of the impact of rapid Arctic changes and to respond to major societal challenges in the Arctic and globally. A significant note of progress from the ASM1 meeting is the increased participation of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples and international science organisations that provided important content and discussions to the ASM2. The themes for ASM2 were:

  1. Strengthening, integrating and sustaining arctic observations, facilitating access to arctic data, and sharing arctic research infrastructure
  2. Understanding regional and global dynamics of arctic change
  3. Assessing vulnerability and building resilience of arctic environment and societies