UN negotiators are discussing measures to tackle climate change in the German city of Bonn. Meanwhile, the Arctic has seen its first heatwave of the year and the Russian war on Ukraine appears to have sparked a fossil fuel revival.
Category: Arctic
In search of consensus in troubled times: Students in Scotland run model Arctic Council
Students in the Scottish coastal town of Oban are staging the country's first Model Arctic Council. The pro-independence government is keen to extend links with its northern neighbours. It's an interesting time to hold SCOTMAC, when the Arctic Council's work has been paused over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Thawing permafrost: Arctic future on shaky ground bodes ill for the global climate
Arctic permafrost is thawing, threatening northern communities and speeding up the climate change that is thawing it in the first place. Only rapid and substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can help avert catastrophe.
Business as usual for fossil fuels as polar ice melt bodes more climate chaos in 2022
At the end of a year of fires, floods and other climate catastrophes, is the world coming to its senses? Or are we burning on regardless?
Greenland to Glasgow: Arctic SOS to Climate COP26 as scientists demand urgent action to slow ice loss and avert sea-level and weather catastrophe.
Top scientists working on the Greenland ice sheet and Arctic climate change issued an urgent message. The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting faster than ever, with catastrophic implications for global sea level and the world's weather – and only rapid and substantial action can slow the pace.
Tipping points: can a leaked report tip the scales to climate action?
I was working through my Twitter feed, fretting about the incredible temperatures in the high north and researching my next blog post. Could geoengineering be the way to cool the Arctic and the planet? Should it? And was the current hype about it not distracting too much attention from the need for immediate and drastic …
Continue reading Tipping points: can a leaked report tip the scales to climate action?
Hot times ahead as oil-fuelled Russia chairs the Arctic Council and polar warming picks up pace
The bi-annual Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 20th attracted a lot of media interest – not least because the new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was attending, alongside Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This is one arena where the two rivals and Cold War adversaries come together as …
Can we make peace with nature in a rapidly changing Arctic?
The United Nations Environment Programme is calling for bold action to “make peace with nature” by cutting greenhouse gases and restoring biodiversity as the world emerges from the COVID pandemic. “Innovation and investment only in activities that protect both people and nature”, is the motto. What does this mean for the rapidly changing Arctic and the Indigenous peoples living there?
International Polar Bear Day: Only rapid emissions reductions can ensure the Arctic icons survive beyond 2100
February 27th is International Polar Bear Day. In the rapidly warming Arctic climate, sea ice is declining at record rates, destroying the habitat the bears need to survive. Rapid emissions cuts could still ensure their long-term survival. Otherwise, all but a few populations could collapse by 2100.
2021: Future doesn’t just happen – It’s what we make it
As I started work on this post, on December 23rd, the thermometer here in north-western Germany showed 14° Celsius. I’ve long given up dreaming of a White Christmas in this part of the world, but roses and honeysuckle in bloom in mid-winter? 2020 marked the close of the warmest decade (2011-2020) on record, according to …
Continue reading 2021: Future doesn’t just happen – It’s what we make it
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