The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 is the largest internationally coordinated polar research effort in the past 50 years. It will include research and observations in both the Arctic and Antarctic and will explore the strong links these regions have with the rest of the globe. IPY 2007-2008 will initiate a new era in polar science and involve a wide range of research disciplines, from geophysics and ecology to social science and economics. It is a truly international endeavour with over 160 endorsed science projects with a strong interdisciplinary emphasis that have been assembled from the ideas of researchers in more than 60 countries. It also includes nearly 60 projects addressing education and outreach objectives. This talk will present a broad overview of the scope of science that will be undertaken during IPY 2007-2008, focussing in particular on four key issues that emerge as requiring urgent attention: · The polar regions are presently changing faster than any other regions of the Earth, and that change is particularly evident in widespread shrinking snow and ice.   · Processes in polar regions have a profound influence on the global environment, particularly weather and climate system, while the polar environments are themselves impacted by processes at lower latitudes. · The Arctic is home to more than 4 million people, and these communities face large and rapid changes in their natural environment and in their natural resources and food systems.  · Within the polar regions lie important scientific challenges yet to be investigated and unique vantage points for science.