The Arctic and the rest of the planet are heating up rapidly. Emissions are at a record high and fossil fuels in demand against the background of the energy crisis through Russia's war on Ukraine. Can 2023 bring a decisive shift in climate action?
Category: Arctic
Warmer, wetter, darker: What’s happening to the “frozen North”?
2022 has seen exceptional warmth and ice melt in the Arctic, with consequences for the whole planet. But against the background of Russia's war on Ukraine, climate action has stalled. It's high time to cut emissions and speed up the energy transition.
Wildfires and ice: heatwaves put spotlight on the Arctic
Rarely have I heard the Arctic being mentioned so often in the media as in this hottest of summers. I wish the reason was a good one. Alas. The warming Arctic plays a key role in the development of the heat-waves currently disrupting life and livelihoods around the globe.
UN experts talk climate in Bonn as Russian war fuels fossil revival and Arctic warming picks up pace
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.
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 …
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