Building on the success of an earlier Collection, PLOS Climate is collaborating with APECS to invite contributions of Research Articles, Reviews, Essays and Opinions from the polar early career community, which will be specially highlighted to the journal’s broad and interdisciplinary readership.
Scope - This initiative complements activities held at the Polar Early Career World Summit (PECWS) and is a space for early career individuals connected to Arctic, Antarctic and cryosphere research to express their views on the future of polar research. Contributions should focus on early career perspectives towards international priority setting and coordination processes in polar research, e.g. the International Conference on Arctic Research Planning IV (ICARP IV) and the International Polar Year (IPY) 2032-2033.
Article types - PLOS Climate publishes original Research Articles, narrative Reviews, long-form Essays, and short Opinion pieces. All article types except Opinions are subject to full peer review. Please note that systematic reviews and scoping reviews should be submitted as Research Articles, not Reviews.
Publication fees and waivers - Publication fees for Research Articles are automatically waived for corresponding authors whose primary affiliation is to an institution in a Group A or B Research4Life country, or whose institution has a partnership with PLOS. There are no publication fees for Reviews, Opinions or Essays.
About PLOS Climate - PLOS Climate provides an inclusive venue for all areas of climate research, with an emphasis on collaborative, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work that improves global and regional understanding of climate phenomena and informs critical strategies for combating climate change. PLOS Climate is committed to open research principles that empower academic researchers, policy-makers, governments, international organizations and industry to take positive, evidence-based action in the face of climate change.
Please register your interest to contribute through this form by 9 June. If you are interested to work in a group, you will then be connected with others that proposed a similar contribution. Please note that all potential co-authors need to fill out the form individually. More detailed information about the submission process will be shared with everyone that fills out the form. You can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions related to this initiative.
Abstracts and a full author list will need to be submitted by 12 September 2025, with the deadline for full submissions being on 31 October 2025.
