Interventions: Frosty Hot, Mexico City, 2025
The 2024 Australian Antarctic Research Conference, at the University of Tasmania, brought together nearly 500 polar experts and researchers from across the country who all agreed to release a warning statement. “Nowhere on Earth is there a greater cause of uncertainty in sea-level rise projections than from East Antarctica, so close to Australia the statement reads. “The East Antarctic Ice Sheet alone holds enough water to raise global sea levels by approximately 50 meters [164 feet] if completely melted. Implications for our coastal cities and infrastructure are immense.”
Due to climate change, the global sea level has risen by up to 10.5 centimeters (over 4 inches) in the past 30 years. Antarctica holds the Earth’s largest body of ice, which is the equivalent of 58 meters (about 190 feet) of water if completely melted. The region currently loses around 17 million tonnes (more than 18 million tons) of ice every hour, and scientists claim that this rate is only accelerating. “Our societies must set and meet targets to ‘bend the carbon curve’ as quickly as possible,” the researchers say in the statement. “Failure to rapidly reduce emissions—every year and every tonne—commits actual and future generations to greater and critical sea-level rise.”
#emmataggart
https://mymodernmet.com/antarctica-emergency-summit/
materials: acrylic, ink, staples, fabric on watercolor paper (26 X 19 inches)
