After forests, biodiversity and the oceans, France is now hosting a global summit on the poles and glaciers. Scientists and political leaders from around the world are invited to the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History )in Paris from Wednesday, November 8, to Friday, November 10, at President Emmanuel Macron's initiative, for a new international meeting under the "One Planet" banner to discuss these pressing issues at the forefront of the impending climate catastrophe.
The expected outcomes of these three days include updates to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) 2019 "Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere," the world's permanent snow, glaciers, ice caps, pack ice, lakes and frozen ground. The summit is also aiming to produce a "Paris Appeal for Poles and Glaciers" on Friday, when Macron will take part in the closing ceremony.
In addition to a joint political declaration, the Polar Summit could also be an opportunity to forge coalitions of countries that could subsequently influence international decisions, such as the creation of marine protected areas in Antarctic waters under the future Treaty for the Conservation of Deep-Sea Biodiversity. The Ambition on Melting Ice initiative launched by Iceland and Chile in 2022, which has 20 signatory nations, could find an opportunity here to expand.
Around 40 countries will be represented, including Germany, Italy, Belgium, China, India, Monaco, Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. Some will be represented by their head of state or government. According to the Elysée Palace, this event is "connected" to the sixth edition of the Forum for Peace, scheduled for the same dates in the French capital. The aim of these two events is to "prepare international cooperation to avoid the crises of tomorrow," even if the times are not favorable to multilateral understandings.
Russia, although an essential Arctic neighbor, was not invited. "Many things can be done without it," said the Elysée. "The idea is to show that, despite the resurgence of geopolitical tensions around the world, we are still capable of applying a long-standing doctrine on the poles and glaciers: They must remain privileged spaces of peace, scientific cooperation and environmental protection."
Whether the discussions are fruitful or not, they come late. The melting of the world's ice is already well underway as a result of climate change. And the trend is not about to stop: Even if governments meet their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global warming will reach at least a further 2.7°C by 2100, by which time two-thirds of all glaciers will have disappeared, with a major impact on available freshwater.
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