The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment have both predicted that the Arctic is extremely vulnerable to projected climate change. Polar bears will likely be shifted pole-ward if the sea ice retreats. According to new scenarios presented by the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre and others, the polar ice cap will disappear almost entirely during summer in the next 100 years.

The increasing changes in the sea ice that affect access to prey will have a negative effect on the bears. With less food, polar bears will fail to reproduce more often and give birth to smaller young that have higher mortality rates.

Polar bears may be forced on shore for extended periods and rely on fat reserves deposited the previous spring for survival. In such a situation they will be increasingly vulnerable to hunting if not regulated. If these periods become excessively long, mortality will increase. Sea ice is also used for access to den areas and if ice patterns change, existing den areas may be unreachable. Warmer temperatures and higher winds may reduce ice thickness and increase ice drift. Because polar bears must walk against the moving ice (like walking the wrong way on an escalator) increased ice movements will increase energy use and reduce growth and reproduction.

Polar bears are the apex predator and are exposed to high levels of pollutants that are magnified with each step higher in the food web. A key characteristic of the pollutants is that they tend to persist in the environment and resist degradation. Many of the organochlorine pollutants are lipophilic or "fat loving" and bond tightly to fat molecules. Polar bears are particularly vulnerable to organochlorines because they eat a fat rich diet. Ringed, bearded, and harp seals comprise the main food of polar bears and the blubber layer is preferentially eaten by the bears and subsequently, the intake of pollutants is high.

Certain areas of the Arctic, such as northeastern Greenland, the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea, have higher levels of pollutants. Based on studies in other species, it is reasonable to believe that the pollutant load of polar bears in some areas are negatively affecting the immune system, hormone regulation, growth patterns, reproduction, and survival rates of polar bears. Recent studies have suggested that the immune system is weaker in polar bears with higher levels of PCBs. A major concern with polar bears pertains to their reproductive system. There are suggestions that species with delayed implantation are more vulnerable to the effects of pollution through endocrine (hormone) disruption. Further, female polar bears are food deprived during gestation their pollution loads increase because as they use their fat stores, where pollutants are stored, for energy. Because the cubs are nursed on fat rich milk, the cubs are exposed to very high pollution loads from their mother.

Oil development in the Arctic poses a wide range of threats to polar bears ranging from oil spills to increased human-bear interactions. It is probable that an oil spill in sea ice habitat would result in oil being concentrated in leads and between ice floes resulting in both polar bears and their main prey (ringed and bearded seals) being directly exposed to oil. Another concern is that seals covered in oil may be a major source of oil to polar bears. Other studies suggest that polar bears are sensitive to disturbance at maternity den sites. Disturbance could occur both when a pregnant female is selecting a den site and during the winter-spring after the cubs are born. If exploration or development occurred sufficiently close to a den, the mother may abandon the den prematurely or abandon her offspring.

Over-harvest is an ongoing concern for some polar bear populations: particularly in areas where there is no information on population size (e.g., Québec, east Greenland, and the Chukchi Sea) and no quotas. It is important that population estimates and projections are based on substantiated scientific data. An additional concern is that population inventory programs occur relatively infrequently in some areas so if the harvest rate is above the sustainable level, the population may be reduced before the next inventory is made. Recent development of co-management agreements and greater involvement of local people and hunters is improving the management of polar bears in some areas.

Utilisation
The principle use of polar bears in the circumpolar arctic is for subsistence purposes. These include consumption of meat; use of hides in the construction of clothing such as mittens, boots (mukluks), fur ruffs for parkas, and fur pants; and small scale creation of items of handicraft. The US (Alaska), Canada and Greenland manage a subsistence harvest. Norway and Russia prohibit harvest of polar bears. In Russia during the early 1990s an unsanctioned harvest of polar bears began following dissolution of the Soviet Union. Levels of harvest are not quantified.

In Canada a portion of the annual harvest is by sports hunters employing native guides utilizing traditional harvest methods such as dog-teams. The harvest levels are regulated and based on principles of sustainable resource management. Greenland introduced a quota system which came into force on January 1, 2006 and plans to start sport hunting in the near future.

A small number of orphaned cubs are placed in zoos and public display facilities.

Research activities: live capture and release of polar bears.

Public viewing and photography are another form of utilization and occur locally at Churchill, Canada, and other remote areas, at specific locals in Svalbard, Norway, and to a limited extent in location on the north coast of Alaska.