The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a United Nations body created in 1988 to provide decision makers with regular, neutral, policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive scientific assessments on climate change, its impacts and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. The Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6 WGII), which has been approved and published end of February 2022, assesses climate-change impacts, risks, adaptations and vulnerability for various systems (e.g., land and freshwater ecosystems, ocean and coastal ecosystems, water, food, fibre and other ecosystem products, cities and key infrastructure, health, and livelihoods) and regions, including polar areas, as well as frame options for sustainable development pathways integrating adaptation and mitigation measures. In this presentation, I will provide an overview about the AR6 cross-chapter paper on polar regions, focusing on the key messages about the specific polar climate-driven impacts on and risks for socio- ecological systems in high- latitude areas, as well as the opportunities, adaptive capacities, and response options related to climate change.