Unequal but united in the face of cryospheric collapse

The One Planet Summit culminated in November 2023 in the Paris Appeal, which was signed by numerous countries around the world. The list of signatories highlighted a certain heterogeneity. On one hand, countries with the resources to act in face of cryospheric collapse. On the other hand, signatories with limited means to do so, being particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change despite their lower contribution to GHGs (Greenhouse Gases), and their relative geographical remoteness from the poles. Despite these disparities, these countries have come together in Paris to face up to this common threat.

Developed countries: a major scientific commitment

Countries such as Germany, Switzerland and Japan are among the signatories of the Paris Appeal. Despite the fact that they only have the Observer status on the Arctic Council, they wish to present themselves as indispensable partners in the poles, using scientific leverage. For example, Japan has a scientific base in Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago open to international scientific research, and is conducting studies there on the impact of climate change, which contributes to its legitimacy in the region.

In addition, Switzerland has a long tradition in glaciology, acquired through the exploration of the Swiss Alps, whose expertise is illustrated, for example, by its base installed on the Greenland ice cap until 2021. On the basis of this expertise, Swiss diplomacy has supported the concept of a "vertical arctic", drawing a parallel between the Alps and the Arctic, which face similar climatic problems.

These countries have the resources to conduct scientific programs, as does Germany through the Alfred Wegner Institute (AWI) for Polar and Marine Research, which occupies a scientific base with the French Polar Institute Institut polaire fran?ais Paul-émile Victor in Svalbard and undertakes joint scientific programs such as the MOSAiC expedition aboard the Polarstern, completed in 2020.

These three countries are pertinent examples of how scientific leverage is used by states with the resources to assert themselves at the poles. However, a contrast emerges when we look at some of the other signatories to the Paris Appeal, also located outside the Arctic region. Those with limited resources and vulnerable to climate change have different interests in participating in such events.

The Paris Appeal: a sounding board for the most vulnerable countries?

Some signatories to the Paris Appeal are indeed directly confronted with the consequences of cryospheric collapse. These countries, sometimes far from the poles, have limited resources to commit themselves to the same level as developed countries. Yet they play an essential role in sounding the alarm, as illustrated by Tuvalu's participation in the One Planet-Polar Summit. This small Pacific island state, with a population of around 12,000 is emblematic of this profile. Tuvalu faces the prospect of becoming the first state to become uninhabitable, in just a few decades, due to rising sea levels.

Bangladesh and Mozambique have also signed the Paris Appeal. These two countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Bangladesh is particularly exposed to flooding, which destroys more and more farmland each year and creates new climate refugees, a reality remarkably documented by Arko Datto, who captured the lives of these refugees along the Delta that crosses India and Bangladesh.?

Similarly, Mozambique is facing an intensification of cyclones, droughts and floods. As a result, the food security of both countries is being affected, while they have few resources to adapt. In this context, it was in the interest of these countries to participate in signing the Paris Appeal in order to accelerate the fight against the collapse of the cryosphere, of which they are also victims.

The list of signatories to the Paris Appeal is thus heterogeneous, with the composition revealing states located solely outside the poles. The most developed countries use scientific leverage, with more strategic objectives in the background. Other states, such as Tuvalu and Bangladesh, despite their geographical remoteness and lower contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, are confronted with the consequences of cryospheric collapse, to the point of posing an existential threat. In this context, these states have a vital interest in promoting cooperation to tackle a common and inequitable problem.

Written by Jonathan Blanchet, Institutional Relations Officer for Greenlandia