Irene Quaile-Kersken
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Journalist specialising on polar issues, environment and climate. Contribute to Eye on the Arctic, Polar Journal, Arctic Today. @iceblogger.bsky.social
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Articles by Irene Quaile-Kersken
Even 1.5°C could be too high for 3.5 billion
Growing evidence from Antarctica suggests that even if countries hit the lower target for temperature increases set by the Paris Agreement, it may not be enough to prevent some countries from suffering catastrophic damage caused by ice-sheet melting As countries gather in Bonn, Germany, to finalise the first evaluation of Paris climate-agreement pledges — known as the Global Stocktake — scientists have joined an unusual new grouping of countries urging “2°C is too high”, a warning that, based...
Countries threatened by sea-level rise call for help at Antarctic Treaty meeting
Small islands and low-lying countries that are threatened by sea level rise are currently attending the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Helsinki to call for immediate action to avert a pending disaster Representatives of non-Antarctic Treaty countries such as Mexico are in Helsinki until 8 June for the annual meeting of the consultative parties to the Antarctic Treaty (ATCM).
Ein Zeichen der Zeit? Warum Eisforscher in die TIME-Liste aufgenommen wurden
“Wenn das Eis schmilzt, hast Du nichts mehr, worüber Du schreiben kannst”. Ich war ziemlich geschockt, als jemand, ein selbsternannter Klimaaktivist, mir das in den letzten Tagen sagte. Na ja, wenn “alles Eis schmilzt”, wird ein Blogthema das Kleinste meiner Probleme sein.
Un signe des temps ? Pourquoi les spécialistes de la glace figurent sur la liste du TIME
« Si la glace fond, tu n’auras plus rien à écrire ». J’ai été assez choquée quand quelqu’un, un activiste climatique autoproclamé, m’a dit cela ces derniers jours. Eh bien, si « toute la glace fond », un sujet de blog sera le cadet de mes soucis.
A Sign of the TIME(s)? Why ice researchers count among the world’s most influential people
(Title Photo: Ted Scambos, University of Colorado, Boulder, NSDIC: Camp on Thwaites Glacier) “If the ice caps melt, you won’t have anything to write about any more“. I was flabbergasted to hear that last week from someone I met locally, a self-declared environment activist. Phew. If the “ice caps melt”, finding a topic to write about will be the least of our problems.
Hausse de la température terrestre, refroidissement du climat géopolitique
L’offensive de Poutine a plongé le monde dans une ère de crises multiples : guerre, ralentissement économique, menace sur notre sécurité énergétique et alimentaire – et n’y a-t-il pas aussi autre chose ? Ah oui – le changement climatique. Cette crise existentielle semble avoir été reléguée à l’arrière-plan de l’actualité. Pourtant, elle est indissociable des autres crises qui font la une des journaux.
Steigende Erdtemperatur, abkühlendes geopolitisches Klima
Putins Angriff hat die Welt in eine Ära multipler Krisen gestürzt: Krieg, Wirtschaftsabschwung, die Bedrohung unserer Energie- und Nahrungsmittelsicherheit – und gab es da nicht noch etwas? Ach ja – der Klimawandel. Diese existentielle Krise scheint in den Hintergrund der Berichterstattung gerückt zu sein. Dabei ist sie von den anderen Krisen nicht zu trennen, die die Schlagzeilen erobern. Der Klimawandel beeinflusst das Geschehen in der Welt – und wird seinerseits auch dadurch beeinflusst.
Blog: Earth’s temperature rises as geopolitical climate cools
It’s now one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. There’s no sign of any end to the conflict. And we are not looking at a regional dispute. This war has become a major clash between systems, with repercussions for the whole planet. Putin’s invasion has plunged us into a time of multiple crises – war, an economic downturn, threats to energy and food security…. Oh and wasn’t there something else? Ah – Climate change. It seems to have faded into the background of media world affairs coverage.
Earth’s temperature rises as geopolitical climate cools
It’s now one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. There’s no sign of any end to the conflict. And we are not looking at a regional dispute. This war has become a major clash between systems, with repercussions for the whole planet. Putin’s invasion has plunged us into a time of multiple crises – war, an economic downturn, threats to energy and food security…. Oh and wasn’t there something else? Ah – Climate change. It seems to have faded into the background of media world affairs coverage.
Mouvement au Nord - Les frontières de l’Arctique dans un monde en mutation
L’Arctique est confronté à de grands changements, que ce soit au niveau climatique, géopolitique ou sociétal. Pour relever efficacement ces défis, il est important de maintenir le dialogue entre toutes les parties prenantes en Arctique. Mais comment y parvenir en l’absence d’un des principaux acteurs ? C’est possible, comme la Dr Irene Quaile-Kersken en a fait elle-même l’expérience lors de la rencontre « Arctic Frontiers » de cette année. Le Nord bouge et on se déplace vers lui.
Bewegung im Norden - Arktische Grenzen in einer sich ändernden Welt
Die Arktis steht vor grossen Veränderungen, sei es auf klimatischer, geopolitischer oder gesellschaftlicher Ebene. Um diesen Herausforderungen wirksam entgegentreten zu können, ist es wichtig den Dialog zwischen allen arktischen Interessenvertreter aufrecht zu halten. Doch wie soll das gehen, wenn einer der wichtigsten Akteure fehlt? Es geht, wie Dr. Irene Quaile-Kersken am diesjährigen «Arctic Frontiers»-Treffen selbst erlebt. Der Norden bewegt sich und man bewegt sich in Richtung Norden.
Moving North - Arctic Frontiers in a changing world
Tromso is living up to its image as Norway’s Arctic capital, as I step off the plane into a flurry of snowflakes and a landscape of white. I first came up here to to the Arctic Frontiers gathering in 2007 to research and make contacts for a series of documentaries to mark the International Polar Year and stimulate public interest in the polar regions. The world – and the Arctic in particular – have changed dramatically in the 16 years in between, and the pace of that change is accelerating.
Blog: Moving North - Arctic Frontiers in a changing world
Tromso is living up to its image as Norway’s Arctic capital, as I step off the plane into a flurry of snowflakes and a landscape of white. I first came up here to to the Arctic Frontiers gathering in 2007 to research and make contacts for a series of documentaries to mark the International Polar Year and stimulate public interest in the polar regions. The world – and the Arctic in particular – have changed dramatically in the 16 years in between, and the pace of that change is accelerating.
2, 2.5, 3 Grad oder mehr - bietet 2023 eine “letzte Chance” für das Klima?
Ich blicke auf eine glitzernde weiße Landschaft, schillernde, vereiste Bäume, einen atemberaubend blauen Winterhimmel in einem seltenen weißen Dezember hier im milden Rheinland in Westdeutschland. Eine willkommene, der Jahreszeit entsprechende Kaltzeit nach einem heißen – und viel zu trockenen – Sommer. Es wäre allzu leicht, sich der Illusion hinzugeben, dass alles so ist, wie es immer war – oder zumindest so, wie es in unserer Erinnerung war.
Blog: 2023, yet another “last chance” for the climate?
Why 2023 will be another key year for the future of our climate. I am looking out onto a sparkling white landscape, glittering frosted trees, a stunning blue winter sky in a rare white December here in the mild Rhineland of western Germany. A welcome, seasonal freeze-up after a summer that was hot – and way too dry. It would be all too easy to give way to the illusion that things are as they always were – or at least as they used to be in our memories.
2 degrees, 2.5, 3 degrees, 4 - 2023 yet another “last chance” for the climate?
Why 2023 will be another key year for the future of our climate. I am looking out onto a sparkling white landscape, glittering frosted trees, a stunning blue winter sky in a rare white December here in the mild Rhineland of western Germany. A welcome, seasonal freeze-up after a summer that was hot – and way too dry. It would be all too easy to give way to the illusion that things are as they always were – or at least as they used to be in our memories.
Wärmer, Nasser, dunkler: was ist los im ‚Kalten Norden‘?
2022 brachte der Arktis außergewöhnliche Hitze und Eisschmelze – mit Konsequenzen für den ganzen Planeten. Vor dem Hintergrund des russischen Kriegs gegen die Ukraine ist der Kampf gegen den Klimawandel ins Stocken geraten (in den Hintergrund geraten?) Höchste Zeit, um den Treibhausgasausstoß zu kappen und die Energiewende zu beschleunigen. Als ich ein Kind war, lernte ich, die Arktis sei eine “kalte Wüste”, also eine Region, wo das Klima sehr kalt und sehr trocken sei.
Blog: Warmer, wetter, darker-What’s happening to the “frozen North”?
2022 has seen exceptional warmth and ice melt in the Arctic, with consequences for the whole planet. But against the background of Russia’s war on Ukraine, climate action has stalled. It’s high time to cut emissions and speed up the energy transition. When I was growing up I learnt that the Arctic was a “cold desert“, i.e. the climate was very cold and very dry. It’s a long time since I’ve been to a school, but I assume these days the kids are learning different things about the high north.
Warmer, wetter, darker: What’s happening to the “frozen North”?
2022 has seen exceptional warmth and ice melt in the Arctic, with consequences for the whole planet. But against the background of Russia’s war on Ukraine, climate action has stalled. It’s high time to cut emissions and speed up the energy transition. When I was growing up I learnt that the Arctic was a “cold desert“, i.e. the climate was very cold and very dry. It’s a long time since I’ve been to a school, but I assume these days the kids are learning different things about the high north.
Feuer und Eis: Hitzewellen lenken Aufmerksamkeit auf die Arktis
Selten habe ich die Arktis in den Medien so häufig wahrgenommen wie in diesem extrem heißen Sommer. Ich wünschte, der Grund wäre ein positiver. Stattdessen haben wir das Medieninteresse katastrophalen Ereignissen weit abseits des Hohen Nordens zu verdanken. Spanien, Italien, Portugal und Griechenland kämpfen gegen Trockenheit, Dürren und Wildbrände. Eine sengende Hitzewelle hat weite Teile Europas heimgesucht. Selbst hier in Deutschland dominieren Waldbrände die Schlagzeilen.
Blog: Wildfires and ice - heatwaves put spotlight on the Arctic
Rarely have I heard the Arctic being mentioned so often in the media as in this hottest of summers. I wish the reason was a positive one. Alas. Disastrous events well south of the Arctic have drawn attention to the far North. Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece have been battling drought and devastating fires. A scorching heat-wave has wreaked havoc. Even in Germany, unprecedented forest blazes are dominating the headlines. Farmers are predicting low harvests because of persisting drought conditions.
Wildfires and ice: heatwaves put spotlight on the Arctic
Rarely have I heard the Arctic being mentioned so often in the media as in this hottest of summers. I wish the reason was a positive one. Alas. Disastrous events well south of the Arctic have drawn attention to the far North. Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece have been battling drought and devastating fires. A scorching heat-wave has wreaked havoc. Even in Germany, unprecedented forest blazes are dominating the headlines. Farmers are predicting low harvests because of persisting drought conditions.
* Featured *
‘The Church [was] the one that started this whole thing, and they have to end it by rescinding that document’
Eye on the Arctic
‘The Church [was] the one that started this whole thing, and they have to end it by rescinding that document’
Blog
Across the Arctic each summer, thousands of tourists and scientists descend upon the region’s villages, research stations, and glaciers. This Read more
Featured • Zone 2
Since early March of this year, the Arctic Council and its agencies, including the Working Groups which focus on various environmental
Blog: UN experts talk climate in Bonn amidst Arctic warming, Ukraine invasion
Same procedure as every year? While the Russian aggression in Ukraine continues to dominate the headlines and COVID simmers steadily beneath the surface, the annual UN Climate Change Conference is taking place here in the German city of Bonn. Governments are meeting for the first time since the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow last November. These are working meetings, designed to lay the groundwork for COP27, due to take place in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt in November.
UN experts talk climate in Bonn as Russian war fuels fossil revival and Arctic warming picks up pace
Same procedure as every year? While the Russian aggression in Ukraine continues to dominate the headlines and COVID simmers steadily beneath the surface, the annual UN Climate Change Conference is taking place here in the German city of Bonn. Governments are meeting for the first time since the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow last November. These are working meetings, designed to lay the groundwork for COP27, due to take place in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt in November.
Denmark/Greenland
The melting of a Greenland glacier is, in turn, generating its own heat, and accelerating the rate of thaw of Read more
Environment (Denmark/Greenland)
With the final countdown running for the UN climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow, the mood is shifting between desperate hope Read more
The Arctic - A UK Science Perspective
I have just enjoyed my first in-person Arctic conference since the onset of the pandemic. The UNESCO world heritage site Durham with its prestigious university hosted the UK Arctic Science Conference 2022, with funding from the Arctic Office of the Natural Environment Research Council, NERC. Why Durham?
SCOTMAC - Jugend auf der Suche nach Konsens in Zeiten des Konflikts
Bei SCOTMAC simulieren Studierende in Schottland den Arktisrat unter ähnlichen Bedingungen und lernen so die Zusammenhänge zwischen Politik. Umwelt, Natur und Gesellschaft in der Arktis besser zu verstehen. Bild: Gunnar Vigufsson / Isländisches Aussenministerium Als ich in den 70er Jahren in einem kleinen Ort südlich der schottischen Stadt Glasgow aufwuchs, nannten wir eine Fahrt nach Oban einen Ausflug „in den Norden“.
Ice-Blog: In search of consensus in troubled times - Students in Scotland run model Arctic Council
Tough times for the Arctic Council Secretariat in Norwegian Tromsö (Irene Quaile) When I was growing up on the southern outskirts of Glasgow in the 1970s, a trip to Oban was known as “going up north”. This month, Oban itself is looking much further north, when students gather for SCOTMAC – a model Arctic Council, being held for the first time in Scotland. The idea: to interest young people, potential future leaders, in the Arctic and expand their knowledge of it.
In search of consensus in troubled times: Students in Scotland run model Arctic Council
When I was growing up on the southern outskirts of Glasgow in the 1970s, a trip to Oban was known as “going up north”. This month, Oban itself is looking much further north, when students gather for SCOTMAC – a model Arctic Council, being held for the first time in Scotland. The idea: to interest young people, potential future leaders, in the Arctic and expand their knowledge of it.
Dunkle Zukunft für Arktis und Weltklima durch tauenden Permafrost
Mit Rohren den Boden rund um Gebäude kühlen ist eine der Massnahmen, die in der Arktis helfen sollen, den Permafrost vor dem Auftauen zu schützen. Reicht das noch, um eine stabile Zukunft zu gewährleisten? Nein, sagen Experten. (Foto: Irene Quaile) Als ich 2009 zum ersten Mal für eine Reportage nach Grönland flog, landete ich, wie die meisten internationalen Besucher, auf dem Flughafen von Kangerlussuaq, im zentral-westlichen Teil der größten Insel der Welt.
Thawing permafrost: Arctic future on shaky ground bodes ill for the global climate
When I first visited Greenland on a reporting trip in the summer of 2009, my first stop, like that of most international visitors arriving by air, was Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the central-western part of the world’s biggest island. Located at the inner end of a long fjord, it has the atmosphere of being in the “middle of nowhere”. But is one of only two civilian airports in Greenland with a runway that can take large aircraft, so the hub for international flights.
2022: Schmelzendes Eis, Klimachaos und weitere Kohleverstromung
Bizzare Eisberge in Grönland. Die grösste Insel der Welt war in diesem Jahr auch klimatechnisch mehrfach in den Schlagzeilen. Bild: I. Quaile Das Jahr ist beinahe zu Ende und es ist Zeit, ein Fazit zu ziehen. Geprägt durch die weiter anhaltende Pandemie, gehörten aber auch die extremen Wetterereignisse weltweit und der Klimagipfel in Glasgow zu den grossen Schlagzeilen in diesem Jahr.
Blog: Business as usual for fossil fuels as polar ice melt bodes more climate chaos in 2022
The sun sets as rain falls beyond floating ice and icebergs in Disko Bay above the Arctic Circle on September 04, 2021 in Ilulissat, Greenland. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) This December brought some stark reminders of the events that made this year one I will not forget – and not be sorry to see the back of. Our local authority, the “Rhein-Voreifel” region of western Germany, invited interested residents to a meeting about measures to make our area resilient to climate change.
Business as usual for fossil fuels as polar ice melt bodes more climate chaos in 2022
This December brought some stark reminders of the events that made this year one I will not forget – and not be sorry to see the back of. Our local authority, the “Rhein-Voreifel” region of western Germany, invited interested residents to a meeting about measures to make our area resilient to climate change.
Blog: Glasgow outcome - A COP-out for the Arctic, and the rest of the planet
People walk in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, Britain October 29, 2021. (Russell Cheyne/Reuters) My expectations for COP26 were not high. What we needed to come out of it was huge.
COP26 - Nicht die Konferenz, die die Arktis und die Welt rettete
Demonstrationen, die den Konferenzteilnehmern die Dringlichkeit, griffige und rasche Massnahmen zum Schutz der Arktis zu beschliessen, zeigen sollten, fanden am Ende nur wenig Gehör. Bild: COP26 Coalition Knapp 200 Länder hatten sich während mehr als zwei Wochen in Glasgow zusammengesetzt und über die Umsetzungen des Pariser Klimaabkommens diskutiert. Hoffnungsvoll blickten Millionen von Menschen in die grösste schottische Stadt und warteten auf eine Abschlusserklärung.
Glasgow outcome: a COP-out for the Arctic - and the rest of the planet
My expectations for COP26 were not high. What we needed to come out of it was huge. But at the latest when the G20 leaders meeting in Rome ahead of the Glasgow conference failed to agree on a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it was looking highly unlikely that we would see the improved targets – and concrete plans for reaching them – that the world would need to keep global warming to 1.5°C.
Blog: Walk the talk? Can COP26 drive global transformation in time to save the planet?
A delegate looks at a screen during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 8, 2021. (Yves Herman/Reuters) Will Glasgow’s COP26 be remembered like Copenhagen (disaster) or Paris (breakthrough)? Is the climate glass half empty or half full? With more than half the negotiating time over, you could be forgiven for wondering if there are two parallel events going on. Depending on who you listen to, you could expect either.
Walk the talk? Can COP26 drive global transformation in time to save the planet?
Will Glasgow’s COP26 be remembered like Copenhagen (disaster) or Paris (breakthrough)? Is the climate glass half empty or half full? With more than half the negotiating time over, you could be forgiven for wondering if there are two parallel events going on. Depending on who you listen to, you could expect either. The mass demonstrations in the heart of my old home town half-way through the mega-meeting set my heart racing at the weekend. So many people. So much energy.
COP26 - A Glasgow fairytale
The situation for planet earth was looking bleak. There was more of those dangerous heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere than ever before (and the records could go back way beyond the bounds of human history, looking into the earth, the oceans and the ice.) The planet had become a hothouse. The ice at the poles was melting, sea level was rising, islands disappearing under the waves. Permafrost was thawing, buildings and pipelines collapsing. Forests were burning.
Blog: Arctic SOS to Climate COP26 - urgent action needed to avert weather catastrophe
Ice fjord panorama, flowing from Sermeq Kujalleq, Ilulissat, Greenland. (Irene Quaile) With the final countdown running for the UN climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow, the mood is shifting between desperate hope for a breakthrough that will ensure the world can keep global warming below the critical 1.5 C mark – and fear that countries will not pledge the necessary reductions. This week top scientists working on the Greenland ice sheet and Arctic climate change issued an urgent message.
Arktiswissenschaftler schicken SOS an Klimakonferenz
Eisfjord vor Sermeq Kujalleq, Ilulissat, Grönland (Foto I. Quaile) Kurz vor der UN-Klimakonferenz COP26 im schottischen Glasgow schwankt die Stimmung zwischen der verzweifelten Hoffnung auf einen Durchbruch und das Einhalten des 1,5 Grad-Ziels – und der Befürchtung, dass Länder zu den notwendigen Maßnahmen nicht bereit sein werden.
Greenland to Glasgow: Arctic SOS to Climate COP26 as scientists demand urgent action to slow ice loss and avert sea-level and weather catastrophe.
With the final countdown running for the UN climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow, the mood is shifting between desperate hope for a breakthrough that will ensure the world can keep global warming below the critical 1.5 C mark – and fear that countries will not pledge the necessary reductions. This week top scientists working on the Greenland ice sheet and Arctic climate change issued an urgent message.
When the rain falls on Greenland … only negative emissions can cool the Arctic - and the planet
This month rain fell on the highest peak of Greenland for the first time ever. In that icy environment, this was so unexpected, there were no gauges in place to measure it. In my last blog post, I described the devastating floods here, in the region of Germany where I live.
1.5°C sind zu hoch: Gedanken aus einem flutzerstörten Tal in Deutschland
Überflutetes Ahrtal. (Foto: Hochwasser in Ahrweiler-freiwillige Helfer) Die Flutkatastrophe in Teilen des Westens von Deutschland hat die Bevölkerung und das Land völlig überrascht. Das Ausmass der Überflutungen zeigt sich erst langsam. Doch bereits über 170 Tote und noch unzählige vermisste Personen, tausende von Obdachlosen, zerstörte Infrastrukturen, kaum Trinkwasser, Nahrung, Kommunikation sind das Resultat dieser Katastrophe, die sogar Wissenschaftler überrascht hat.
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