What is the Cryosphere?

The cryosphere is a term for the regions of our globe which are covered in ice and snow – either seasonally or year-round. Climate change is happening in the cryosphere faster and more dramatically than anywhere else on earth.

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We believe that much can be accomplished if many partners work together, and ICCI worries less about credit than accomplishing needed solutions at all levels. ICCI therefore strives to work innovatively, yet without fanfare and in a sustained manner, to create new partnerships and approaches together with cryosphere scientists, governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector – yet always with the clock ticking for the cryosphere’s survival; and therefore, that of the planet, at least as it has existed for the past 3 million years.

The cryosphere also creates the possibility of complementary climate solutions that benefit those living nearby, especially Arctic Indigenous and mountain peoples. For example, black carbon (soot) – whether from a small cooking or heating stove, or a massive wildfire — lands on ice and snow and causes it to melt more quickly; so reductions can help slow snow and ice loss, while also aiding adaptation in a rapidly changing climate and improving human health. Reductions of methane from human activity might also help counter emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas coming from thawed permafrost.

ICCI seeks to find such new and integrated solutions to benefit local mountain and Arctic communities. In particular, we have worked since 2010 to reduce black carbon emissions from agricultural sector burning, and from heating and cooking stoves. We must be clear however: the main focus of emissions reductions lies in reducing use of fossil fuels, aiming at the IPCC recommendation of around a 50% decrease by 2030; reaching carbon neutrality by 2050; and negative emissions thereafter, to remain with the 1.5°C “guardrail” of the Paris Agreement. Every fragment of temperature rise counts, and will reduce global loss and damage for many future generations – and emissions experts are clear that a 1.5°C future remains within reach, if only we choose to act in time.