I attended UNESCO headquarters in March 2026 to ring in the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences and, further ahead, the International Polar Year (2032–2033). This was preceded by the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (2025), whose aims were to raise awareness of the vital role glaciers, snow and ice play in the climate system and water cycle, as well as the far-reaching impacts of rapid glacial melt.
The aims of the Decade for Cryospheric Sciences are to:
- Advance scientific research and monitoring – conduct studies on glacier retreat, polar ice loss and permafrost thaw to understand causes and impacts.
- Raise awareness – educate the public and policymakers on why the cryosphere matters.
- Support adaptation – help vulnerable regions (mountain villages, Arctic communities, islands) adapt to cryosphere changes; for example, nearly two billion people depend on water from mountain glaciers and snow.
- Build on global initiatives.
The attendees said navigating planetary issues requires a multi-faceted approach across borders and disciplines, with journalists, documentary filmmakers, podcasters, and others urgently needed to connect with policymakers and the public. My grasp of the subtext from these global leaders and scientists is “It's do or die.” Let’s not sugarcoat the reality … this process will have a myriad of challenges to overcome. For example, attendees at UNESCO identified the following problems that impede progress: changing attendance at meetings impairing momentum, disagreement over solutions, ideas slow to advance because of uncertain funding, and political inertia. We can take steps to solve this impasse by creating working groups with all members having clearly established roles, taking meeting minutes with action items assigned to group members, following science-based decisions, practising personal discipline, and embracing strong leadership.
Besides this UNESCO event, I attended ChangeNOW at the Grand Palais in Paris. Overall, I was impressed with the passion, ideas, plans and developments that were discussed at both events. Below I focus on how technology, education and the Internet are transforming the ways in which climate science and knowledge are acquired and disseminated.
Citizen Science
Citizen science allows the public to take part in gathering, analysing or disseminating data in scientific research projects. Many projects require little experience, and when simple protocols are provided, citizens provide relevant information and data for fields such as biodiversity. Resource and time constraints may make it difficult for institutionally based scientists to travel to remote locations; instead, local citizens can be invaluable resources for observation and data collection. Technology is front and centre in this process. As examples, SmartICE technology is a set of climate change adaptation tools developed for Northern regions to measure ice thickness, with remote monitoring and satellite mapping for ice travel safety. Citizens of the Reef leads conservation efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef hrough the citizen-led Great Reef Census, which uses in-water surveys to record coral health across the Reef, including some of its largest coral colonies. These surveys are processed using AI and forwarded to scientists and marine specialists. The Ocean Cleanup Survey App allows the global community to report plastic pollution in oceans or rivers using smartphones. Educational programmes and centres such as the Reef Intervention Training Program, the SmartICE Training Platform, the University College London Citizen Science Academy, the European Citizen Science Platform and SciStarter, to name just a few, are leading this new movement of citizen science.
Climate Journalism
I recently published an article based on an interview that I did with a scientist from the Tara Foundation about their upcoming expedition to the Arctic. Rather than arrive with many pre-planned questions, I asked only five in total: 1. Why is this important? 2. What are the objectives? The third question was derived after listening to the objectives, the fourth focused on preparation for the expedition, and the fifth on the research itself: what types of research would be done and the methods involved. I let his voice carry throughout rather than just extracting sound bites, and I edited for brevity and clarity. As science journalists, we need to carefully craft climate stories to translate complex data into meaningful, science-based narratives.
At ChangeNOW 2026, QuotaClimat director Eva Morel discussed the need for more funding for investigative journalism, climate science training, fact-checking of climate narratives to counteract the spread of disinformation and misinformation, and engaging with climate scientists and experts for greater reporting accuracy.
Citizen journalists use social media, podcasts and YouTube to report on events as they happen, often rooted in their local communities. Educational programmes, media literacy, and ethics and critical-thinking skills training for citizen journalists are on offer from the EU and other platforms. A training guide with nine modules, including how to pitch your media story, has been published by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
Readership of online news is increasing, in contrast to traditional news outlets, where it is decreasing. Trust in climate science reports is low, with roughly 50% of EU citizens having difficulty with either unclear or unreliable information in print and on social media.
While 84% agree that climate change is caused by human activity, 52% say traditional media fail to provide clear information, and 49% report difficulty identifying reliable content on social media.
Documentary Filmmaking
Environmental documentary films provide clear stories, engaging visuals, and emotive messages. I watched the very informative documentary Arctic Glaciers: State of Play (2025) at UNESCO, with the director and a glaciologist providing an in-person discussion after the film. The director said he did not have a preset script but spent several days at the glaciers of Svalbard, where he observed and listened to the field glaciologist, with the script unfolding after these discussions. The glaciologist at the screening talked about the illusion of quick fixes proposed by geoengineering proponents, which detracts from tackling the real root causes of glacier loss. In April I saw Tara: The Coral Odyssey (2017), a visually stunning scientific expedition documentary about Pacific Ocean coral. Documentaries in remote, inaccessible regions – where mountain communities, for example, are living with the day-to-day effects of glacier loss – can be particularly effective. Overall, people say they pay attention to documentaries (39%) more than to major news organisations (33%).
How to Get Involved
You don’t need a research post or a polar expedition to contribute to climate science. Here are a few ways to start:
- Find a project near you: SciStarter (scistarter.org) lists thousands of citizen science projects you can search by topic, location and time commitment.
- Report ocean and river plastic: Download The Ocean Cleanup Survey App and log plastic pollution with your smartphone.
- Survey the Great Barrier Reef: Join Citizens of the Reef and the Great Reef Census, either in the water or online by analysing reef images.
- Share what you learn: Check your sources, support climate journalism you trust, and pass on accurate, science-based stories rather than sound bites.
Conclusion
The Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences gives us ten years to change how the world understands its ice, and the tools to do so have never been more widely available. Citizen scientists are gathering data from places researchers cannot easily reach, documentary filmmakers are bringing remote glaciers into our living rooms, and journalists are learning to translate complex science into stories that stick. For this new media landscape to succeed, training, education and press freedom must be part of it, and journalists must favour carefully crafted, science-based stories over sound bites. Scientists, too, need real incentives to step out of the lab and speak with the public and policymakers. The challenges raised at UNESCO are real, but so is the momentum. Whether by logging plastic on a beach, surveying a reef or sharing a well-sourced story, each of us can help keep the cryosphere in the conversation.
