The COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion will be held in partnership with Chile and Iceland, the two Co-Chairs of the Ambition on Melting Ice High-level Group. Building off the success of the past four Cryosphere Pavilions at COP25, COP26, COP27 and COP28, this year’s Pavilion will provide a space for exhibits, science-policy seminars or “side events,” and ministerial-level events with representatives from polar, mountain, coastal nations and more all affected by the impacts of cryosphere loss.

ICCI will coordinate with concerned nations to strengthen the focus on the 1.5°C Paris limit given expanding loss and damage from cryosphere melt with each rise in temperature above that point, as growing research increasingly demonstrates. A full schedule and more information about our activities can be found below.

We are listed as “Chile and Iceland” on the Official COP29 map, and can be found at A8 directly next to the entrance of the Delegation Pavilions in Area E of the Blue Zone.

side event Schedule

Click on the calendar tiles below to view our daily side event schedule. Each day has a unique thematic topic, from mountain glaciers and snow to permafrost, ice sheets, sea ice and polar oceans. The schedule will be regularly updated with the latest information.

Pavilion Background & Goals

Click on the tabs below to learn more about the Cryosphere Pavilion background and goals, efforts to raise cryosphere science within the negotiations, and high-level engagement and accomplishments since its formation five years ago at COP25.

New cryosphere and climate science research – some of it published even since release of the IPCC第六次评估报告综合报告 in March 2023, and even more since literature inclusion closed for the “Physical Science” portion of AR6 in January 2021 – makes clear that even limited overshoot of the Paris Agreement temperature limit of 1.5°C will cause a number of irreversible global changes, due to the physical cryosphere response. Some of these ice losses will be near-immediate in response to global warming, such as Arctic sea ice (according to research published in June 2023, as early as the 2030’s). For others, especially ice sheets, glaciers, and permafrost, cutting edge research increasingly points to losses earlier and at greater scale than previously thought; with spreading and catastrophic global impacts if emissions continue on their high-end trajectory.

On the other hand, modeling also shows that very low emissions scenarios, with only a brief 1.6°C overshoot of the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal, shows at least some stabilization of this cryospheric global threat by the end of this century, with today’s steep glacial losses evening out, and even Greenland and Antarctic loss beginning to slow – but only/only with these very low emissions, on pathways that require about 42% emissions cuts no later than 2030, a level which keeps 1.5°C “alive” by enabling net zero emissions by 2050. Low emissions (with overshoot to 1.8°C, but are nearly below 1.5°C by end of century) are not as effective in slowing the collapse of several cryosphere thresholds, especially permafrost thaw and glacier loss, or triggering the eventual collapse of the West Antarctica Ice Sheet.

All other pathways above low/very low emissions show a threshold response by global cryosphere: sea ice-free conditions in the Arctic stretching from July to October most years; unstoppable loss of virtually all glaciers in the Alps, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Andes and sub-Arctic North America and two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers, along with their water resources that support agriculture, hydropower and drinking water for an estimated 3 billion people at least seasonally; higher permafrost emissions that cut the human carbon budget and result in severe infrastructure loss across North America, Russia and High Mountain Asia. In addition to these severely changed landscapes, these higher emissions may change our coastlines with up to 20 meters sea-level rise or more, with rates of 5 cm per year and 15 meters already by 2300 “not able to be ruled out,” according to the IPCC AR6 (and strengthened by additional research conducted since).

In recognition of the need to raise these cryosphere realities at higher government levels, given their human and ecosystem impacts well beyond adaptation limits, 20 nations came together at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh to sign the AMI Declaration. AMI, which stands for Ambition on Melting Ice, aims to raise the need for urgent emissions cuts that will “correct course” on our current high emissions pathway to the “very low,” 1.5°C limit, in order to prevent the devastating loss and damage that will occur in the wake of a collapsing cryosphere.

The Cryosphere Pavilion has been a consistent and effective means, at four COPs starting with COP25 in Madrid, to bring policy-relevant cryosphere science to the attention of delegates, from heads of state and government to negotiators, civil society, and students. The Pavilion helped successfully launch the Ambition on Melting Ice (AMI) High-level Group, chaired by Iceland and Chile, at COP27 when several countries joined based on visiting the Pavilion exhibit and events.

More than 60 side events have taken place each year, all live streamed and archived online, with some gaining thousands of views. Especially at COP29 in Dubai, senior cryosphere scientists had the chance to interface directly with negotiators, leaders and the media, and helped hold the line on the lower 1.5°C Paris limit. The Early Career Scientist (ECS) program has grown to involve more than 90 applicants last year, giving the next generation of cryosphere scientists direct experience of climate negotiations and how their current and future research can have a real impact.

AMI was formed to bring knowledge of these stark cryosphere realities to the highest levels of governments and other stakeholders. The COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion will therefore have a clear focus in conjunction with AMI nations and leaders: keeping 1.5°C alive as a matter of basic survival for billions not only today but generations of tomorrow. Given Baku’s own dependence on mountain water (nearly 100% dependent, and one-quarter directly supplied by glaciers and winter snowpack of the Caucuses), and in the wake of the first-ever Mountains Dialogue at the SB60 UNFCCC meetings in June, this year’s Pavilion will have a strong focus on mountain glaciers and dynamics.

COP29 represents a key opportunity to make the global impact of overshoot from cryosphere resulting from continued fossil fuel use abundantly clear, especially in the world’s first commercial producer of fossil fuels. As of COP28, the global community formally recognized that a new energy era is necessary: a transition away from fossil fuels. COP29 and COP30 will be about bringing all forces – especially financing – in support of the transition presaged by that COP28 outcome.

The Cryosphere Pavilion has directly engaged with a wide range of high-level figures since its inception. The first Cryosphere Pavilion, held at COP25, was opened by His Serene Highness Prince Albert of Monaco, the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation, and the Chilean Minister for Education. Since that first high-level opening, dozens of heads of state and ministers, ranging from Iceland and Chile to Senegal and Vanuatu have visited or spoken at the Pavilion, and engaged with cryosphere scientists. At his COP28 visit, US Senator Edmund Markey (Massachusetts) noted he had stopped by every year, calling it his “favorite Pavilion;” U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) has also been spotted in the audience attending Pavilion side events.

With the founding of AMI near the conclusion of COP27, the Cryosphere Pavilion became a strong focal point in sharing the latest science with negotiators up through the ministerial level of AMI’s twenty founding governments, ranging from polar to low-lying and high-mountain regions all vulnerable to the impacts of cryosphere loss. AMI added France, Italy and the Netherlands in 2023; and several additional countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan and Guinea have signaled their intent to join AMI at COP28. Cutting across negotiating groups and regions, AMI represents a rare point of consensus on needed ambition and urgency, all motivated by the irreversible damage that results from the simple physical reality of the melting point of global ice stores.

Today, the Cryosphere Pavilion has become a well-recognized space within the Blue Zone at COPs, and an increasing number of delegations visit to speak with experts, ranging from snow and ice scientists to Indigenous representatives, to inform their work during the negotiations. COP28 in Dubai, which included dedicated meeting space for AMI negotiators, provided a strong example of how the Pavilion forges strong connections between cryosphere scientists and negotiation teams committed to understanding the far-reaching impacts of cryosphere loss, not only in their own countries but across the planet. We plan to strengthen this constructive engagement at COP29 in Baku.

Pavilion Focus Days

The COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion will feature specific focus days for the following topics, with targeted side events (six one-hour slots per day) illustrating for policy makers the choice between ambitious 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) versus our current pathway.

The full schedule of 60+ side events taking place at the Pavilion through November 11-22, 2024 will be updated regularly until finalized. To receive Cryosphere Pavilion updates such as these in your inbox, you can subscribe to our newsletter, which also provides weekly summaries of latest snow and ice science for policy makers.

Cryosphere Pavilion Side Events: Livestream

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.

Ice Sheets: Choosing Between 3-20+ Meters Irreversible 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 1.5ºC. In Earth’s past, even 2°C has resulted in 12-20 meters of SLR over time.

Mountain Glaciers and Snow: Healthy Ecosystems or Water Resource Loss

Mid-latitude glaciers suffer nearly total loss at overshoot above 2ºC, but preserve some basis for regrowth, and some stabilization of water and other ecosystem services at 1.5ºC. However, mountain-dependent regions, in particular the HKH face challenges today.

Financing for Mountain and Coastal Regions: Adaptation, or Loss & Damage?

Mountain areas are key for climate adaptation efforts due to their transboundary and global importance, serving as water towers and global biodiversity hotspots. Coastal areas, similarly, have a high vulnerability to climate change as well. Critical steps forward include leveraging finance, such as finding synergies between mitigation and adaptation projects, from the local to national and regional level.

Sea Ice: Stabilizing Climate or Accelerating Warming if Loss Expands

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 1.5ºC 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.

Permafrost Thaw: More Carbon Emissions for Centuries with 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.

Polar Oceans: Stabilized CO2 or Millennia of Acidification

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.

Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada, throat-singing with an Indigenous youth representative during an evening cultural event at the COP26 Pavilion.

Early Career Scientist Program: In addition, the COP29 Pavilion will host eight early career scientists at the doctoral and post-doctoral level to staff the Pavilion, four each week. They will introduce speakers, answer questions about the exhibits to make the science more accessible, and gain an inside view of negotiations to further inform their scientific careers by shadowing and supporting ICCI and other negotiators.

2024 State of the Cryosphere Report

Every year, the Cryosphere Pavilion shares the latest snow and ice science through scientific displays. The displays show how key cryosphere dynamics (mountain glaciers and snow, ice sheets, polar oceans, permafrost, and sea ice) will produce increasingly devastating global and regional consequences at different peak CO2 concentrations and temperatures. Impacts hit vulnerable communities – whether Arctic, mountain, or downstream – already at today’s temperatures.

The displays are based off the 2024 State of the Cryosphere Report this November, the fourth in the series leading up to 2030, which underscores the need for urgent emissions reductions to limit the far-reaching and intergenerational consequences of cryosphere loss. The 2024 report was released on Nov. 12 at the beginning of COP29.

2024 State of the Cryosphere Report Media Updates

2024 Cryosphere Pavilion Supporters Include, with Great Thanks

Switzerland, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Woodwell Climate Research Center, Lemelson Foundation, Bolin Centre for Climate Research/Stockholm University, British Antarctica Survey, AMAP, Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR), GiveOne Foundation, Global Choices, Climate and Cryosphere (CLiC).

In addition, nearly 100 academic institutions participated in past Pavilions with speakers and in-kind support, including: Grantham Institute at Imperial College, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Climate Analytics (Germany), INACH (Chile), Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK), Antarctic Research Centre, University of Wellington (New Zealand), National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC, U.S.), St. Andrews University (Scotland), Bristol University Glaciology Centre, East China Normal University, Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), University of Oslo, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR), Arctic Council (AMAP, ACAP Working Groups); and of course, many scientists of the IPCC.

联系我们

If you have any questions, please reach out to:

Pam Pearson

Executive Director

International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (U.S)

International Cryosphere Climate Initiative-Europe (Sweden)

pam@iccinet.org

Amy Imdieke

ICCI Global Outreach Director

Pavilion Logistics and ECS Coordinator

amy@iccinet.org