April 12, 2020

IPA Revises Its Conference Plans for 2021-2023 due to COVID-19

The International Permafrost Association (IPA) has released a statement below about its revised future conference schedule:

International Permafrost Association Conferences

On 17 February, the International Permafrost Association (IPA) regrettably had to announce the cancellation of the 12th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2020) due to the COVID-19 crisis. This conference had been scheduled for 22-26 June in Lanzhou, China. Following this decision, members of the IPA leadership, its International Advisory Committee, and conference local organizing committees thoroughly discussed possible options for the schedule of future IPA conferences. Chris Burn, IPA Senior Vice-President, led these discussions and developed a report concluding on the best possible future conference schedule, given this unprecedented situation. This schedule was agreed upon by the relevant parties and the IPA Executive Committee, and then was formally approved by a majority vote of the IPA Council by 23 March.

Thus, the IPA is pleased to announce our revised conference plans for the years 2021-2023:

• 2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost and 19th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering, 11-16 July 2021, Boulder, Colorado, USA
• 12th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2022), 20-24 June 2022, Lanzhou, China
• 2023 Regional Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP6), Puigcerdà, Spain (exact dates TBD).

This new plan was developed to ensure the best possible conferences and a balance in regional distribution of conference locations. The IPA extends sincere gratitude and thanks to the local organizing committees for their flexibility and the significant work undertaken in planning these conferences. The IPA looks forward to these conferences and hopes to see a strong showing of the permafrost community in these exciting locations.