OUR PLANET The magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme - May 2007 MELTING ICE A HOT TOPIC Climate Change and the Cryosphere OUR PLANET MAGAZINE CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CRYOSPHERE OUR PLANET Our Planet, the magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) PO Box 30552 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: (254 20)7621 234 Fax: (254 20)7623 927 e-mail:
[email protected] To view current and past issues of this publication online, please visit www.unep.org/ourplanet ISSN 101 - 7394 Director of Publication: Eric Falt Editor: Geoffrey Lean Coordinators: Naomi Poulton, David Simpson Special Contributor: Nick Nuttall Distribution Manager: Manyahleshal Kebede Design: Amina Darani Producedy by: UNEP Division of Communications and Public Information Printed by: Naturaprint Distributed by: SMI Books The contents of this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP or the editors, nor are they an official record. The designations employed and the presentation do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP concerning the legal status of any country, territory or city or its authority or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. * All dollar ($) amounts refer to US dollars. page 3 page 4 page 8 page 9 page 24 page 25 page 26 a different planet - page 7 reflections people verbatim and numbers books awards and events www products OUR PLANET MAGAZINE CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CRYOSPHERE ...outlines new solutions for an accumulating problem, and describes how his country is aiming to become carbon neutral. Roberto Dobles, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica and President of UNEP’s Governing Council and the Global Ministerial Environment Forum... agenda for action - page 9 Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change... ...calls for political leadership to revive international negotiations — and keep the world’s ice frozen. new dynamics - page 12 ...argues that the effects of climate change on the Arctic and its people should be seen as a matter of human rights. Sheila Watt-Cloutier, 2005 UNEP Champion of the Earth for North America, and International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference 2002–2006... a human issue - page 14 Qin Dahe, co-Chair, Working Group 1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and, until April 2007, Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration... ...examines the challenge before the world’s fastest developing nation. china: climate change and development - page 16 Susana Bischoff, Graciela Canziani and Patricia Centurión, explain the importance of water from glaciers and snowmelt in Latin America and suggest how to adapt to its disappearance. snow, ice and life - page 18 Basanta Shrestha, Division Head of Mountain Environment and Natural Resources Information System at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development... also ...asks for commitment at the political, corporate and grassroots level to combat climate change. Helen Bjørnøy, Minister of the Environment of Norway... Linda Fisher, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Dupont... ...describes the rapid retreat of the glaciers of the Himalayas and calls for urgent action to tackle the resulting dangers. mountain tsunamis - page 20 ...calls for a coordinated global approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. action works - page 22 Peter Garrett, rock star, campaigner and politician... ...describes climate change as a “once in a generation opportunity.