Climate change is without a doubt the greatest problem to face mankind in our infant history. Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic regions are playing and will play an immeasurable role in how the Earth’s climate will change in the future. A new report from the IPCC, global climate models, and first hand data show that Earth’s polar regions are experiencing accelerating climatic change. These climatic changes in the Arctic and Antarctic can result in: rapid sea level rise, the frigid polar oceans degassing CO<sub>2</sub> as they warm up, slowing ocean currents, facilitating more superstorms, as well as almost stopping the North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation which is responsible for keeping Europe as warm as it is. At the UNFCCC 24th Conference of Parties in Katowice, Poland I attended talks, presentations, and learned exactly how Earth’s polar regions are changing and what that means for coastal cities, the marine industry, entire countries, and in general, humanity. In the past several decades, the Arctic has been subject to the fastest and largest increase in temperature around the globe; this is significant because warming in the Arctic will cause other climatic effects to be amplified. Additionally, the presentation will focus on Poland’s dependence on coal and the need for global divestment from coal by 2050, one of the most important steps set forth by the Paris Agreement in order to successfully mitigate climate change.

Earth’s changing climate in the polar regions

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.