In addition to annual Ministerial meetings at UN climate conferences, or COPs, the Ambition on Melting Ice (AMI) High Level Group organizes events at other climate, polar, mountains and environmental summits including the ATCM and UNGA Climate Week, as well as bi-annual strategy sessions for member countries and experts.
Recent AMI Events:
AMI Ministerial Press Conference | Baku, Azerbaijan | Nov. 20, 2024
Cryosphere science has only sharpened since last IPCC AR6 report. Ministers from Iceland and Monaco shared a new Ministerial Statement urging increased urgency of action at COP29 and going forward towards 2025 NDCs. The press conference took place on Nov. 20 in Baku during the final days of negations. More information about the release of the Statement can be found here.
At COP29, Germany and Palau officially joined the AMI High-level Group. Germany signed the Declaration during a UN side event focused on the cryosphere (“Message from a Frozen Planet”) and Palau joined the following week before the AMI Ministerial Press Conference.
The Press Conference can be viewed on the UNFCCC website: https://unfccc.int/event/iceland-and-monaco-ambition-on-melting-ice-ministers
“Message from a Frozen Planet” UN Side Event at COP29 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Nov. 12, 2024
Various Side Events at the COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion | Baku, Azerbaijan | Nov. 11-22, 2024
Maisa Rojas, Chilean Minister for the Environment, cut the ribbon at the Cryosphere Pavilion Opening Ceremony. She spoke with four early career scientists who specialize in retreating mountain glaciers, melting ice sheets, declining snow cover, and vanishing Arctic sea ice.
More than 70 side events that took place at the COP29 Cryosphere Pavilion; livestreamed recordings are available online: https://iccinet.org/cop29-cryosphere-pavilion
AMI Strategy Meeting | Frankfurt, Germany | Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2024
AMI Strategy Meeting | Baku, Azerbaijan | May 7-8, 2024
AMI Ministerial Meeting at COP28 | Dubai, UAE | Dec. 9, 2023
Ministers, climate negotiation teams, and policy experts from AMI governments strategized how to best elevate cryosphere issues in the closing days of COP28. Ultimately, the COP28 decision text contained fairly strong references to 1.5°C, but did not substantively address key cryosphere issues that many countries already face today; and will continue to face with devastating consequences if fossil fuel emissions continue on their current trajectory. These conclusions bring greater ambition and direction to AMI’s efforts in 2024.
“Why 2°C is Too High” Side Event at the COP28 Chile Pavilion | Dubai, UAE | Dec. 3, 2023
Hosted by AMI Co-Chair Chile during the first week of negotiations, cryosphere scientists explained the urgent need for emissions reductions in order to limit melting ice, rising seas, and global impacts.Speakers included Dr. James Kirkham, AMI Chief Scientist (moderator); Dr. Carolina Adler, MRI, IPCC AR6 Mountains Author; Dr. Chris Stokes, Durham University; Dr. Sian Henley, University of Edinburgh; and Dr. Robbie Mallett, University of Tromsö. Working closely with the Cryosphere Pavilion, these five scientists were part of a team of experts present at COP28.
Various Side Events at the COP28 Cryosphere Pavilion | Dubai, UAE | Nov. 30 – Dec. 13, 2023
Recordings of over 50 side events are available here: https://iccinet.org/cop28-cryosphere-pavilion/
AMI Strategy Meeting | Oslo, Norway | Oct. 9-10, 2023
One Planet – Polar Summit | Paris, France | Nov. 10, 2023
The One Planet – Polar Summit (OPPS) helped carry this ambition into COP28, with three new countries joining AMI: France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Taking place several weeks before COP28, this Polar Summit offered a chance for scientists to directly share their findings with political leaders from Arctic, Antarctic, and high mountain regions. The resulting Paris Call for Glaciers and Poles emphasized the critical role of cryosphere science in climate negotiations due to the global consequences of snow and ice loss already at today’s temperatures, and pledged funding to support continued scientific research in these polar and mountain regions.
“The Road to COP28” High-level Event at Climate Week | New York, USA | Sept. 22, 2023
AMI coordinated this high-level event at the end of UNGA Climate Week, kindly hosted by the Explorers Club. During this event, ministers, lead negotiators and scientists labeled “keeping 1.5°C alive” as a needed exclusive focus, not simply an option. For every fraction of a degree above 1.5°C, the cryosphere’s response will cause impacts beyond the limits of adaptation for billions of people alive today, as well as future generations.
Watch the event: https://www.youtube.com/live/tL4X7ploiJQ
SB58 Cryosphere Pre-sessional Technical Workshop | Bonn, Germany | June 2, 2023
This landmark Pre-sessional Technical Workshop in Bonn was the first of its kind; a full-day session for climate negotiators to examine the latest cryosphere science before the start of the UNFCCC SB meetings, laying the groundwork for COP28. It brought 40 governments into direct conversation with experts on ice sheets, mountain glaciers and snow, sea ice, permafrost, and polar oceans. In the midst of negotiations the following week, several mountain, polar and low-lying nations came together in a UNFCCC side event with a clear message: 2°C of warming is too high.
“Antarctica, Sea Level Rise, & Acidification” ATCM Side Event | Helsinki, Finland | June 1, 2023
The 45th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) hosted its first-ever Climate Day, a full-day session on climate change. At this side event the evening before, researchers shared the latest science around the fate of the Antarctic ice sheet with continued high fossil fuel emissions, featuring statements from low-lying countries highly vulnerable to sea level rise. Speakers included Finnish climate negotiator Dr. Kaarle Kupiainen; Dr. Marcelo Leppe, Director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH); Dr. Tim Naish, Victoria University of Wellington; and Dr. Lydie Lydie Lescarmontier, ICCI.
Learn more: https://iccinet.org/atcmhelsinki2023/
AMI Strategy Meeting | Stockholm, Sweden | March 30-31, 2023
Founding of AMI, Ministerial Meeting at COP27 | Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | Nov. 16, 2022
Led by Chile and Iceland, 20 governments joined together at COP27 to create the AMI High-level Group. Founding members included polar, mountain, and low-lying nations that all exist on the front lines of cryosphere changes today. AMI members signed a Declaration calling for action to decrease global emissions by 50% before 2030 to keep global temperatures within 1.5°C in line with the lower Paris limit, and raise cryosphere issues to the forefront of UNFCCC negotiations and in other forums.
March 25, 2024