Declaration of the Ambition on Melting Ice Coalition
Several countries directly affected by the climate crisis have warned that glaciers will continue to melt and sea levels will continue to rise. Global warming has already led to dramatic changes in the snow and ice regions of the world, the cryosphere, according to a joint statement by the so-called Ambition on Melting Ice Coalition at the UN climate conference in Egypt.
“However, today’s severe impact of the loss of the cryosphere pales in comparison to the increasingly severe and far-reaching consequences of greater global warming, according to the latest scientific evidence.” The 18 signatory countries, including Chile, Iceland, Sweden and New Zealand, want to make it clear that protecting the cryosphere through vigorous climate protection measures is not just a matter for mountainous and polar nations, “but an urgent global concern, since the greatest impact on human communities lie far outside of these regions”.
A rapid reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions to preserve the possibility of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is the best option to limit losses in the cryosphere and the resulting chain of possible catastrophes. In addition to polar and mountainous countries, it is also low-lying countries “that are in reality at the forefront of changes in the cryosphere,” the coalition warned.