Discussing the fate of the poles and the cryosphere at a time when the world is torn by conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East… The agenda was not simple. This week, despite the geopolitical convulsions, Emmanuel Macron orchestrated its Peace Forum, a cycle of meetings combining multiple themes, such as the situation of the civilian population in Gaza, digital technology and artificial intelligence but also the situation of glaciers and ice floes, sentinels of global warming.
On Friday, the President of the French Republic concluded the One Planet Polar Summit during a speech at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris. “We are in a multi-crisis world where everything is connected and everything is linked”explained Emmanuel Macron to scientists and heads of government gathered in the large gallery of evolution. “The subjects of biodiversity and climate (…) are the subjects of tomorrow’s crises and they are inseparable from the hottest security subjects that we have to live with today. We avoid tomorrow’s misfortunes by doing this. Our duty is not to deviate from this agenda. »
Meeting since Wednesday, the scientific community from around forty countries noted that the world was in danger. Climate change is three times faster in Arctic regions and at least half of glaciers are expected to disappear even with global warming limited to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era.
Noting that a billion inhabitants were threatened by rising waters, Emmanuel Macron spoke of a challenge “unpublished” And “civilizational” for Humanity. And he pledged to mobilize one billion euros to support polar research. With the ambition to build a polar ship which will bear the name of Michel Rocard, the former French prime minister and major player in the environmental protection of Antarctica.
The exit from fossil fuels is not mentioned
This money will also be used to finance two projects, the Polar Pod of explorer Jean-Louis Etienne intended to study the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Station of the Tara Foundation. France will rebuild its Dumont d’Urville station from 2026 and will work on renovating the Franco-Italian Concordia station, both in Antarctica.
But this summit was also an important diplomatic meeting three weeks before the start of the 28e COP-climate which will take place in Dubai, from November 30 to December 12. After tough negotiations on certain terms, 32 countries signed the “Paris Appeal for Glaciers and the Poles” which expresses alarm at the situation of the polar ice floes and explains that 200,000 glaciers are threatened with a “almost irreversible withdrawal”.
You have 65% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.