Call for COP29 Side Events and Early Career Scientist Volunteers

Dear Friends of the Cryosphere Pavilion and Cryosphere Capsule Readers!

The COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion side event application process for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan (Nov. 11-22) is now open! In Baku, we plan to again carry forward the cryosphere’s message towards urgent ambition with another strong array of policy-relevant side events. Our assigned space this year will combine exhibit, side event and office space in a single consolidated Pavilion space in the Blue Zone, and is taking place in coordination with the Ambition on Melting Ice High-level Group Co-chairs Chile and Iceland.

Breadth is strongly encouraged: scientists, Indigenous peoples, Youth and all those who participate in these side events help raise cryosphere impacts and the need for 1.5°C-consistent NDCs as we head for COP30 in Brazil next year. Baku is especially dependent on mountain water resources, with more than a quarter of its water supply coming from glaciers and snow; so we anticipate an especially strong focus on mountains this year.

There is no charge from the Pavilion for side events, but we continue to seek funding and sponsorship from governments, IGOs, foundations, academic institutions and other stakeholders to ensure a fully inclusive breadth of representation and activities. Sponsors are invited to create wall posters, that then become part of the permanent Pavilion exhibit.

The COP29 Pavilion will have a clear focus on the cryosphere message that even 1.5°C is too high for global cryosphere, and should be considered a dangerous limit to exceed, given increasingly clear research that even 2°C should be consider high-risk “overshoot territory” rather than truly congruent with UN Framework Convention goals.

Side event applications are welcome through Monday, September 2. For further details about the COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion application process, see the link below; this page will be updated as more information is received from the COP29 Presidency over coming weeks: https://iccinet.org/cop29-cryosphere-pavilion/

In addition, we will again host several Early Career Scientist volunteers at the Cryosphere Pavilion. Please feel free to share this invitation with any doctoral or post-doctoral students who might be interested: https://iccinet.org/cop29-cryosphere-pavilion-ecs-program/

If you have additional questions, please contact Amy Imdieke: amy@iccinet.org. Look also for a COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion informational zoom session for side event and ECS applicants later in August. We hope to see many of you in Baku!

Pam Pearson, Director, ICCI
Amy Imdieke, Global Outreach Director and Pavilion Manager, ICCI