These commitments are important both for the scientific community in Switzerland and for Swiss climate and foreign policy.

Relevance for the scientific community

From a Swiss perspective, research at the three poles of the earth – Antarctica, the Arctic and areas at extreme altitudes such as those found in Switzerland – is closely related: Glaciers also formed large parts of Switzerland, snow and ice still cover the Alps all year round in some places, and permafrost dominates high altitudes. With polar expeditions from the 20th century onwards, researchers from Switzerland therefore linked knowledge about high altitudes with that about high latitudes. Today, research on the effects of global warming on the polar regions and their feedback effect on the Earth system is central. The findings allow predications on the future of the planet and provide policy-makers with a basis for decision-making. Polar research is of great international interest, and researchers from Switzerland play a leading role. Because international cooperation is particularly important in polar research, today's SKPH was founded in 1984, which became an associate member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research in 1987 (full member from 2004) and a full member of the International Arctic Science Committee in 1994.

IASC and SCAR initiate, promote and coordinate research in the respective polar regions, and provide independent scientific expertise to the members of the Arctic Council and the signatory states of the Antarctic Treaty. IASC also has observer status in the Arctic Council. Through the SCPH membership in IASC and SCAR, the Swiss scientific community can help shape research strategies, propose research projects and has access to the logistics chains that are essential for polar research. With the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI), Switzerland is also contributing directly to the logistical support and promotion of polar research since 2016. The SPI represents Switzerland in three organisations that develop and promote efficient cooperation and sustainable procedures to support scientific research: European Polar Board (EPB), Forum of Arctic Research Operators (FARO) and Council of Managers of National Antarctic Program (COMNAP).

Relevance for climate and foreign policy

The contributions to the scientific organisations IASC and SCAR support Switzerland's foreign policy aspirations to influence the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Treaty. Because climate change is increasingly manifesting itself in the polar and high altitude regions, this is of the utmost importance.

The Antarctic Treaty has granted science free access to Antarctica since 1959 and excludes economic exploitation. Switzerland was granted observer status when it signed the treaty in 1990. In 2016, Switzerland signed the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which opens up the possibility of full membership at a later date.

The Arctic Council has been promoting the sustainable development of the region and its people since 1996. Switzerland's candidacy for observer status was based on the high quality of Swiss polar and high altitude research and the commitment of various actors, including the SCPH. Mention was also made of POLAR 2018, the 11-day international meeting of IASC and SCAR in Davos in June 2018. Switzerland is an observer in the Arctic Council since 2017 and represented in these scientific working groups, in two cases by researchers with close links to IASC:

By participating in IASC and SCAR, the Swiss Commission for Polar and High Altitude Research supports Swiss interests in international scientific bodies of the highest global relevance as well as Switzerland's foreign policy as a neutral proponent of sustainable preservation of the polar regions in a geopolitically challenging environment.