While the world gathers in Glasgow over the next fortnight to
make progress on tackling climate change, 10,000 miles away the
city’s namesake will provide a stark reminder of why urgent
action is needed.
An enormous body of ice in Antarctica has been formally named the
‘Glasgow Glacier’ by researchers at the University of Leeds to
mark the COP26 Summit.
PhD researcher Heather Selley identified 14 glaciers in
the Getz basin of West Antarctica that sped up by an average of
25% between 1994 and 2018 due to climate change. Her study,
published in February, found that 315 gigatonnes of ice
has been lost from the region over the last 25 years, adding the
equivalent of 126 million Olympic-sized swimming pools of water
to the world’s oceans.
Scientists Heather Selley and Dr Anna Hogg requested
that the nine unnamed glaciers in her study be named for the
locations of major climate treaties, reports and conferences, the
most recent of which is Glasgow. Her proposal was submitted by
the UK Government and supported by the UK Antarctic Place-names
committee. The names will now be added to the international
Composite Gazetteer for Antarctica, for use on maps, charts and
future publications.
Today at the G20 the Prime Minister will tell world leaders that
time is running out to save civilisation from the catastrophic
climate change.
As the foremost gathering of the world’s largest economies – who
between them account for 75 percent of global emissions – the G20
has a unique ability and responsibility to prevent climate
change. There has been progress in recent weeks, but barely
half of G20 countries have set out more ambitious plans for
cutting carbon emissions since 2015 and there are
still two G20 members who have not committed to Net
Zero.
The Prime Minister said:
“By naming this glittering giant of nature after the city
where next week humankind will gather to fight for the future of
the planet, we have a stark reminder of what we are working to
preserve.
“Glasgow represents our best chance. Just as the G20
shares a collective responsibility to act, so the solutions are
in our hands. I hope countries will gather next week in a spirit
of responsibility and ambition so we can keep the goal of 1.5
degrees alive.
The Prime Minister is expected to tell fellow G20 leaders at
their Summit in Rome today that the UK’s experience shows how
countries can continue to grow while cutting carbon emissions. He
will point out that fifty years ago the UK derived around 80
percent of our electricity from burning coal, nine years ago that
number was nearly 40 percent and today it is below 2 percent. The
UK will phase out the use of coal in power generation completely
by 2024.
The UK is calling on the world’s richest economies to do
everything they can to reach Net Zero carbon emissions
domestically by 2050, while helping developing countries
transition to clean energy, and halting and reversing
deforestation and land degradation by 2030.
Dramatic changes in ice cover and images of Antarctica have
become synonymous with climate change. Over the past 40 years,
satellites have observed huge iceberg calving events, changes in
the flow of glaciers and rapidly thinning ice demonstrating the
devastating impact of global warming.
University of Leeds researcher
Heather Selley said:
“Naming the glaciers after the locations of major climate
treaties, conferences and reports is a great way to celebrate the
international collaboration on climate change science and policy
over the last 42 years. We wanted to permanently mark the
outstanding effort the scientific community has put into
measuring the present day impact of climate change and its
predicted future evolution.”
Dr Anna Hogg, Associate Professor in Leeds’ School of
Earth and Environment, said:
“The climate crisis effects all of us, whether through flooding
of our homes, increased storm frequency, reduced crop harvests,
or the loss of habitats and biodiversity in the natural
environment, with some communities impacted much more than
others. While these new glacier names celebrate the knowledge
gained through scientific collaboration and the action taken
through policy, it’s clear now that much more must be
done.”
Notes to Editors:
- The nine newly named glaciers are the Geneva, Rio, Berlin,
Kyoto, Bali, Stockholm, Paris, Incheon and Glasgow
Glaciers.
- The 500km long Getz ice shelf was discovered during the 1940s
by the United States Antarctic Service and the US Navy.
