ICCI will again coordinate Pavilion activities, in strong cooperation with various partners, including lead organizing partners for the various Focus Days. Proposals for side events should be submitted as emails or word documents by Monday, September 4 (earlier applications most welcome) to Amy Imdieke at: amy@iccinet.org

Proposals should include the following information and observe the length requirements:

1. Focus Day designation (or “Days”, if interdisciplinary); see list below.

2. Proposed title (100 characters)

3. Brief event description (500 characters maximum)

4. Proposed speakers and/or participating institutions/governments; including whether on-site or virtual. Strong preference will be given to in-person events, followed by hybrid events. Entirely virtual events unfortunately cannot be considered except in extraordinary circumstances.

5. Preferred dates, if any. Kindly note if you are limited as to potential dates.

6. Accreditation needs, if any (number of needed badges). Please note: ICCI is committed to helping successful event organizers obtain accreditation; however, preference will be given to those able to secure their own COP27 badges for on-site participants.

August 4                        Side event applications open

September 4                 Application period ends; notification of successful applications begin immediately

September 20               Last date for notification of successful or reserve status

Nov 30-Dec 12              COP28, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

For more information on logistics in connection with COP28, kindly see the COP28 host website at: https://www.cop28.com/. Please note that at this time ICCI is unfortunately not able to assist with travel, visas or accommodation.

Learn More about the COP28 Cryosphere Pavilion

Hope for the Cryosphere: Feasible Pathways to 1.5°C Emissions Reductions: This day will focus on those pathways as feasible options to prevent global impacts from cryosphere, with a narrowing window for action.

Snow and Mountain Glaciers: Centuries of Impacts on Water Resources: Mid-latitude glaciers suffer nearly total loss at overshoot above 2 Cº, but preserve some basis for re-growth, and some stabilization of water and other ecosystem services at 1.5 Cº. However, mountain-dependent regions, in particular the HKH face challenges today.

Antarctica and Greenland: Overshoot Thresholds for 4-20+ Meters of Sea-level Rise: The WAIS and its collapse will cause 4-6m of SLR over time, and may already have passed that point even today; but chances of slowing or preventing that collapse are far better without overshoot of 1.5 Cº. In Earth’s past, even 2°C has resulted in 12-20 meters of SLR over time.

Polar Oceans: Long-tailed Legacy of Acidification, Warming and Freshening: Polar oceans and high latitude seas already show fisheries and shell impacts today, because these colder waters absorb CO2 more quickly. Those impacts will be greater still with overshoot of CO2 concentrations especially above 450ppm, which with current growth of 2-3ppm annually will be breached around 2030. Warming, freshening and invasion by low latitude species all only add stress towards (in worst-case emissions) a mass extinction event.

Permafrost: Centuries of Carbon Emissions from Overshoot: Permafrost carbon emissions drive some degree of global warming. Those emissions are increasing: they are already on the order of Japan’s; but overshoot to 3-4°C will introduce a “permafrost contribution” closer to that of China or the U.S. today, but lasting 100-200 years; necessitating generations of negative emissions well after anthropogenic emissions cease.

Sea Ice: Global Feedbacks: Antarctic sea ice hit a record low this year, with potential feedbacks to ice sheet loss and global ocean currents. In the Arctic Ocean, ice-free summers will still occur within the 1.5 Cº limit; but by 1.7°C, this is projected to become an annual phenomenon. By 2°C, projections show ice-free periods stretching from July to October most years; with feedbacks including increased permafrost thaw and Greenland ice loss/sea-level rise; and harm to Arctic food chains and communities.

Global Justice and Cryosphere: For the first time, the Cryosphere Pavilion will provide a full day focused on intergenerational justice and the legal issues of committed cryosphere loss.

Cross-cutting: If you event relates to Cryosphere Science and Policy but is more cross-cutting, feel free to so designate.

If you have any questions, please reach out to: