The policy brief “Adapting to the changing cryosphere and sea-level rise: recommendations“, supported by CoCliCo and OCEAN:ICE, summarizes the outcomes of the PROTECT full track.
Key messages
The cryosphere plays a critical role in the Earth’s climate system. Glaciers, ice sheets, and sea levels are at the forefront of climate change impacts. Findings from PROTECT underscore the urgency of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adopting adaptation strategies to address inevitable impacts.
- Mitigation is critical: Reducing emissions directly limits mountain glacier and ice sheets mass loss, preserving critical water resources and limiting further acceleration of sea-level rise, thus giving more time for coastal adaptation.
- Adaptation is urgent: With inevitable impacts on water availability and coastal regions, adaptation is of greatest importance.
- Regional variability matters: Climate impacts on glaciers and sea levels vary substantially across regions, requiring tailored responses.
- Uncertainties are not barriers to action: Decision science offers pathways to act amid the uncertainties, leveraging adaptation frameworks and pathways.
Policy recommendations
- Accelerate emission reductions to follow the lower emission scenario to limit cryosphere loss and associated sea-level rise
- Enhance monitoring of glaciers and ice sheets to refine models and predictions
- Support the long-term development of ice sheet models, their integration into climate models, and the coupling of glacier models with hydrological models, while promoting education and training to build expertise in these areas
- Invest in flexible and localized coastal management that incorporates uncertainty and long-term projections
- Foster international collaboration to share knowledge, resources, and strategies for mitigating and adapting to global impacts
Recommended citation
Chapuis, A., Durand, G., Ballestros-Martinez, C., Champollion, N., Edwards, T., Hinkel, J., Heslop, F., Huss, M., Jourdain, N., Klose, A. K., Lincke, D., Malagón-Santos, V., Marzeion, B., Mottram, R., Nicholls, R., Pattyn, F., Slangen, A., Thiéblemont, R., van den Broeke, M. R., … Zekollari, H. (2025). Adapting to the changing cryosphere and sea-level rise: recommendations. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14650681
