APECS was represented at the One Planet - Polar Summit in Paris, France between the 8th and 10th of November. This event gathered scientists, policy makers and civil society to discuss recent findings of the impacts of climate change on the polar and alpine regions and to discuss knowledge gaps that should be prioritized and supported by governments.
As a result, the “Paris Call for Glaciers and Poles” was endorsed by several countries and international organizations and emphasizes 1) the urgency to meet the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement (e.g. keep global warming below 2.0 ºC while highlighting that an increase of 1.5 ºC may cause irreversible shifts in polar ecosystems), 2) the importance of polar- and cryosphere-related education of the general public, and 3) the need for more collaborative and interdisciplinary research, including with indigenous communities.
APECS was a partner of the event and was represented by José Queirós (current APECS President) and Gwenaëlle Gremion (current APECS France President and APECS Executive Committee Ex officio; past APECS President). Gwen represented APECS during the partners’ presentations in the opening session of the event while José participated in a panel during the high-level sequence. José highlighted the importance of early career researchers (ECRs) for polar and alpine research and stressed why they need to be supported. Additionally, he provided the ECR perspective about climate change impacts and the importance of education and outreach (e.g. international polar weeks) in raising awareness among the public. José was also present in the “Sea Ice, Ocean, Life and Atmosphere” breakout group where he presented the importance of APECS for climate change research by highlighting: 1) the ECR group review initiative for the latest IPCC reports (SROCC and AR6), 2) APECS’ delegation to COP28, and 3) the APECS collection in PLOS Climate (in progress) that will gather articles produced by APECS members regarding climate change and polar and alpine ecosystems.
Throughout the meeting, the importance of APECS and ECRs for the entire polar community was evident. Several times during presentations and speeches, APECS and ECRs were mentioned by our longterm partners (e.g. SCAR, IASC, AWI) as being an important factor in producing more and better research and promoting literacy in polar regions.
Aside from the work, the One Planet - Polar Summit was also a major opportunity to network with APECS’ partners and meet with former APECS Presidents (e.g. Jilda Caccavo and Susana Hancock), former Executive Committee members, previous Executive Director, Gerlis Fugmann, and APECS founders!
APECS was a partner of the summit and was represented by José Queirós (ar right; current APECS President) and Gwenaëlle Gremion (at left; current APECS France President and APECS Executive Committee Ex officio; past APECS President).
José Queirós presenting APECS during one of the breakout sessions of the summit alongside Dr. Antje Boetius, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, and Marcel Babin, Scientific co-director of Sentinel North and Director of the International Research Laboratory Takuvik (CNRS / ULaval).
Gwenaëlle Gremion representing APECS during the partners session of the summit.
