COP28 - End of conference report
SOOS was well represented at COP28 in Dubai by co-chair Dr. Sian Henley, Weddell Sea and Dronning Maud Land Regional Working Group co-chair Dr. Stefanie Arndt, Scientific Steering Committee member Dr. Nicole Hill and Southern Ocean Indian Sector Regional Working Group co-chair Dr. Elizabeth Shadwick. SOOS collaborated with many other organisations working in the Southern Ocean and the oceans and polar regions more generally through a series of side events in the Cryosphere Pavilion. The Cryosphere Pavilion is run by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), an NGO working to integrate the best available cryospheric science into policy and decision-making within UN and other institutions.
SOOS led one side event on Polar Oceans Day in the Pavilion (8th December) entitled Antarctic and Southern Ocean Ecosystems Under Severe Threat from Climate Change. This was organised and chaired by Sian Henley and featured talks from Stefanie Arndt, Elizabeth Shadwick and Dr. Letizia Tedesco representing the BEPSII (Biogeochemical Exchange Processes at Sea-Ice Interfaces) working group. Stefanie Arndt, Sian Henley and Nicole Hill all contributed talks to the side event What the Extreme Low 2023 Sea Ice Tells Us About Antarctica’s Future, which took place on Sea Ice Day (6th December) and was organised by Dr. Will Hobbs from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP). Sian Henley was also a speaker and panel member in two further side events: Multiple Threats to Polar Oceans organised by Prof. Helen Findlay from Plymouth Marine Laboratory and The Role of Sea Ice Biogeochemistry and Ice-associated Ecosystems in the Earth System organised by Dr. Letizia Tedesco from BEPSII. These side events were all livestreamed as well as being attended in person by diverse audiences, and are available through ICCI’s YouTube channel at the links given below. Collectively, these side events have already accrued over 4,000 views from people at COP28 and around the world.
In addition to these side events, SOOS was very active in supporting ICCI in their science and advocacy work around the conference with Sian Henley being involved in ministerial visits and meetings, high-level discussions, briefings for delegations, and multilateral science-policy dialogue. SOOS’ activity at this year’s UNFCCC COP builds on its participation since COP26 in 2021 and further embeds SOOS in science-policy interactions within the United Nations, in addition to its work in Antarctic regional policy spheres.
Recordings of the mentioned side events here...
