The Baltic Sea ice is strongly influenced by the atmospheric circulation and  shows large interannual variability. At the same time the Baltic Sea is one of the most investigated regions on earth with long ice time series. To detect trends in climate change and to relate these to natural or anthropogenic causes are of central importance in the present Baltic Sea research. This was also the main topic during the Fourth Workshop on Baltic Sea Ice Climate held in Norrköping, 22-24 May, 2002. The workshop was organised by SMHI, the SWECLIM program, the Department of Oceanography at the Earth Sciences Centre of Göteborg University, and the Swedish Maritime Administration.