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 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.
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?
My expectations for COP26 were not high. What we needed to come out of it was huge. But at the latest when the G20 leaders meeting in Rome ahead of the Glasgow conference failed to agree on a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it was looking highly unlikely that we would …
Continue reading Glasgow outcome: a COP-out for the Arctic – and the rest of the planet
Will Glasgow’s COP26 be remembered like Copenhagen (disaster) or Paris (breakthrough)? Is the climate glass half empty or half full? With more than half the negotiating time over, you could be forgiven for wondering if there are two parallel events going on. Depending on who you listen to, you could expect either. The mass demonstrations …
Continue reading Walk the talk? Can COP26 drive global transformation in time to save the planet?
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.
Rain has fallen on the highest point of Greenland's ice sheet for the first time ever. The world's climate experts have given their starkest forecast for the future of the climate. Net zero by 2050 will not be enough to stabilize it. Without negative emissions, catastrophic impacts cannot be avoided.
We are fine and glad to live up a hill, but in shock, with the region around us devastated by the heaviest and longest lasting rain I have ever experienced and unprecedented floods. At least 160 people are dead here, more in neighbouring Belgium, and many more missing. This is in Germany, one of the …
Continue reading 1.5°C is way too high: thoughts from a flood-stricken German valley
In Germany, where I live, the country's highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court, - unnoticed by much of the international media – recently issued a game-changing verdict in a case initiated by campaigners supported by groups including Fridays for Future and Greenpeace. The plaintiffs argued the government was failing to act on climate change. The …
Continue reading German High Court win for climate activists is good news for the Arctic
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.
The Ice Blog 