The ongoing Pacific Ocean Project by Christian Clauwers focuses on climate change and global warming, exploring how vulnerable island nations adapt to this critical issue. He has interviewed prime ministers, the presidents of Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, corporations, NGOs, universities, and private citizens, documenting the urgent challenges these regions face.

Christian has traveled across New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Palau, Nauru, Tonga, Samoa, French Polynesia, Lord Howe Island, Easter Island, Fiji, Hawaii, Robinson Crusoe Island, Micronesia, Pitcairn and the Marshall Islands, capturing the realities of climate change in these often-overlooked regions.

As a Climate Pact Ambassador of the European Union, Christian is committed to raising awareness and ensuring that the Pacific remains on the global agenda. Despite contributing less than 0.03% to global emissions, Pacific Islanders are among the most affected by rising sea levels, forcing them to construct seawalls and implement protective measures against coastal erosion and flooding.

Through this project, Christian highlights their resilience and the urgent need for global climate action.

In May 2022, Christian Clauwers joined the TAlPro22 scientific expedition aboard the R/V Belgica, a state-of-the-art Belgian research vessel, to document and visually communicate oceanographic research in the western Mediterranean Sea. This mission, part of the Med-SHIP program, focused on understanding climate-driven changes in the Mediterranean’s deep waters.

Over ten days, 24 scientists from eight countries conducted extensive research at 30 hydrographic stations, collecting data on sea temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and carbon storage. These measurements help quantify the impact of human-induced carbon emissions and track changes in the deep-sea ecosystem, including zooplankton distribution and biodiversity through environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis.

As an expedition photographer, Clauwers played a key role in bridging science and policy through visual storytelling, capturing the complexity and urgency of ocean observation. His work highlights how marine research contributes to a better understanding of climate change, biodiversity loss, and ocean acidification, ensuring that scientific findings reach a wider audience, including policymakers, institutions, and the public.

Since 2024, Christian Clauwers has been officially commissioned by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) to lead outreach and dissemination for the R/V Belgica, Belgium’s only state-of-the-art research vessel. Through his work, he continues to connect scientific exploration with global awareness, promoting the crucial role of ocean research in tackling environmental challenges.

WHITEOUT is an art project featuring 28 photographs that capture the serenity, silence, and splendor of the polar regions, accompanied by 26 poems, songs, and insights from the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, particularly the Sámi and Inuit.

More than just a visual project, WHITEOUT offers a unique perspective on the Arctic’s fragile beauty and the semi-nomadic cultures that have thrived there for centuries. Each image evokes a poetic silence, exploring the boundaries of the visible—a tribute to a world on the edge of change.

To support this indigenous awareness project, Christian Clauwers has published a limited-edition art book, restricted to 250 individually numbered and signed copies, each personally signed by the poet and photographer. All photographs are available for purchase, contributing to Christian's mission of preserving and sharing indigenous knowledge and sustainability insights.

In 2019, Christian Clauwers embarked on a three-week expedition aboard the Marion Dufresne, the French government’s scientific vessel, which supplies scientists and researchers in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) with essential provisions, equipment, and support.

Navigating 9,000 km of turbulent ocean through the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties, this journey provided a rare opportunity to document one of the most remote and ecologically significant regions on Earth. Clauwers was fully integrated into the ship’s operations, collaborating with researchers and witnessing the fragile beauty of these isolated ecosystems—home to some of the world’s largest seabird and marine mammal populations.

The French Southern Lands and Seas are a vast, protected nature reserve, playing a critical role in biodiversity conservation, carbon regulation, and climate research. Despite their isolation, these ecosystems are increasingly affected by climate change, invasive species, and human impact.

With his camera as a witness, Clauwers sought to capture the raw essence of these wild territories, offering a glimpse into their untouched landscapes and the urgent need for conservation. His images preserve a moment in time, providing both scientific insight and artistic tribute to one of the last true wildernesses on Earth.

For centuries, the polar regions represented a pure, untouched world—a vast, inhospitable wilderness where temperatures plummeted far below zero, claiming the lives of many explorers and researchers.

Today, the poles stand as a symbol of global warming. Despite their immense scale, they are among the most vulnerable regions on Earth. Even the slightest temperature increase has a profound impact, accelerating the melting of ice masses and glaciers and threatening the fragile ecosystems that call these extreme environments home.