Arctic Melt
Learn how the Arctic’s rapid warming affects the world and discover the Bottled Warning campaign that brought this crisis to global leaders.
The Bottled Warning Campaign
At COP26 in Glasgow, we launched a high-profile campaign to put the Arctic melt crisis under the noses of world leaders, delegates, climate deniers, and reporters. We partnered with a Greenlandic enterprise to collect fresh Greenland glacial meltwater and worked with a Scottish bottling partner to create a "single serving of alarming climate facts." Each limited-edition bottle contains messages of risk and a reminder not to waste these precious glaciers.
Since COP26, these bottles have appeared at global events like Davos and as part of our Arctic Warning series with Reuters, amplifying the urgent need to address Arctic warming.
Key Facts About the Arctic Melt Crisis
- Rapid Warming: The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average, driven by rising CO2 emissions that directly correlate with the loss of Arctic ice.
- Global Impacts: Arctic warming is linked to extreme weather worldwide, including frigid cold spells, prolonged floods, persistent warmth, and long dry spells.
- Greenland’s Ice Melt: The Greenland ice sheet is melting at a rate of 1.2–1.5mm per year. If it melts completely, it would raise global sea levels by 7.3 meters. By the end of the century, it’s projected to contribute 30–60cm, with some scientists estimating up to 1 meter.
- A Barometer of Risk: The Arctic serves as a warning system for global climate risks, highlighting the urgent need to stay below the +1.5°C emissions target.
The Arctic is the poster child for the need to stay below the +1.5C emissions target, and it’s warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Climate Research shows a strong and direct correlation with rising CO2 emissions and loss of Arctic ice. Science shows that the Arctic is the barometer of global risk — what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay there. Research shows that rapid Arctic warming is linked to extreme weather farther south. Be it frigid cold spells, prolonged floods, persistent warmth, or long dry spells.
Greenland melt is a critical problem – the Greenland ice sheet alone would contribute 7.3 meters of global sea level rise if it were to melt completely. It is currently melting at a rate of 1.2 – 1.5mm per year. Greenland’s ice sheet is set to contribute between 30-60cm by the end of the century, but there is a growing consensus of scientists who think Greenland can contribute a meter. Quite a feat if you consider it was not contributing at all in the 1990s.
Take Action Against Arctic Melt
