MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

More funding needed for polar research as ice keeps melting

Funding for polar research is “clearly insufficient,” Olivier Poivre d'Arvor said

As the melting of glaciers and poles keeps expanding, scientists Wednesday asked during the “One Planet Polar Summit” for additional funding to address the issue.

The gathering is a scientific meeting of researchers and politicians from around forty countries organized by the French government to share the community's findings and projections on ice melting and offer recommendations for better protection of glacial and polar regions. The event ends on Friday, Nov. 10.

“Research on the cryosphere has come a long way in recent decades,” paleoclimatologist Valérie Masson-Delmotte was quoted by AFP as telling the conference.

“It is clear that we need support,” added her colleague Jean Jouzel.

“Funding is also needed in polar research, clearly insufficient,” stressed France's ambassador for the poles and the ocean Olivier Poivre d'Arvor.

One of the goals of the event is to establish international cooperation in the study of the consequences of warming on glaciers and poles, as well as in the prevention and adaptation of climate policies in the face of the rapid erosion of the cryosphere, it was explained.

The participants also called on the authorities to support “international scientific initiatives and missions” aimed at “improving knowledge of the cryosphere”, stressing the importance of international cooperation to ensure continuous and comprehensive data collection, AFP also reported.

The term “cryosphere” encompasses all the ice present on Earth (sea ice, glaciers, icebergs) and its research has advanced greatly in recent decades.

About 40% of Antarctica's ice shelves declined significantly in the last 25 years, adding to evidence that man-made climate change is affecting the poles.

The scientists attending the event also urged governments to “sharply and rapidly reduce” greenhouse gas emissions to respect the Paris Agreement targets, i.e. limit global warming to 2°C or 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era and support “international scientific initiatives and missions” aimed at “improving knowledge of the cryosphere.”

The importance of international cooperation to ensure continuous and comprehensive data collection was also stressed.