The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation will use next week’s COP31 climate summit to look for partners willing to back 17 proposed Arctic and Antarctic projects, from a polar early warning system to a permanent funding mechanism for research in the regions.
The proposals are being put forward ahead of the Fifth International Polar Year (IPY5), a coordinated international research effort planned for 2032-2033.
The foundation’s Polar Initiative will present its call to action on Tuesday 17th November during a panel at the summit’s Cryosphere Pavilion in Antalya, Turkey. It will ask governments, researchers, Indigenous organisations and funders to identify which projects they could help develop and what they could contribute.
Proposals from Monaco
The proposals came out of the third Monaco Polar Symposium, which, as reported by Monaco Life, was held at the Oceanographic Museum in February and brought together 170 participants from 31 countries and territories.
Among them are more precise forecasts of how much Antarctic ice loss could contribute to sea-level rise, and projections that vulnerable coastal communities could use to plan for local impacts. Other proposals would improve access to polar research data while respecting Indigenous control over how knowledge is shared, give Indigenous communities a role in shaping the International Polar Year, and create an international polar science education programme.
Funding beyond the International Polar Year
The foundation says short-term funding makes it difficult to sustain the observations, equipment and international collaboration that polar research requires. The proposals include a summit bringing research funders and investors together, as well as a permanent funding mechanism for polar research.
“The years leading to 2032 give us a unique opportunity to build the legacy of IPY5. We have a shared direction and a roadmap. Our duty now is to turn them into coordinated, ambitious and lasting action for the protection of the polar regions,” said Prince Albert II.
Organisations and individuals can already register interest in specific proposals through the Polar Initiative’s call for expressions of interest, which closes on 2nd January 2027. A new grant will help partners develop early ideas into programmes that can attract funding and operate across borders.
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Photo credit: Philippe Fitte / FPA2