Chile at COP27: Science Minister highlights the importance of Magallanes as a subantarctic platform
Silvia Díaz stressed that the region could generate scientific, logistical and tourism opportunities through its research centers, such as the Cape Horn Sub-Antarctic Center, the International Antarctic Center and the Center for Dynamic Research of High Latitude Marine Ecosystems (IDEAL).
Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation Minister Silvia Díaz has participated in the 27th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), where she highlighted the importance of the Magallanes Region as a subantarctic platform.
As part of Science Day, celebrated today at the international convention, Minister Díaz emphasized the scientific and technological capacities that the Magallanes Region possesses for the fight against climate change. The region is a unique natural laboratory that provides access to scientific data in the southern hemisphere and a platform for international cooperation in science through frontier scientific expeditions.
Minister Díaz gave a presentation this Thursday on “Magallanes, Sentinel of Climate Change,” from the COP27 Chile Pavilion. She was joined on the panel by Environment Undersecretary Max Proaño and Ricardo Rozzi, director of the Cape Horn International Center for Global Change Studies and Biocultural Conservation (CHIC), who also spoke about the progress of scientific capacities in the region.
“We know that global interest in Antarctic science has increased due to the current climate crisis. It goes in search of better projections and predictions for adaptation plans, as well as local, regional and global governance, in order to protect humanity,” Minister Díaz stated.
Magallanes contains five components of the climate system: the atmosphere; the biosphere; the hydrosphere; the cryosphere; and the lithosphere. The cryosphere corresponds to the frozen component, the planet’s ice, and its main constituent is the Antarctic polar cap.
“Magallanes’s proximity to the western coast of Antarctica allows us to study changes in the stability of the territory and climatic turning points, and establish predictive models and projections of current and future climate conditions,” Minister Díaz emphasized.
The region is a natural subantarctic-Antarctic platform that could generate scientific, logistical, tourism and communicational opportunities. It has infrastructure, equipment and scientific capacities that can support productive development.
Its technological capacities have undergone vertiginous development in recent years, thanks to the construction of various scientific centers. Three centers stand out for their privileged geographical location: the Cape Horn Sub-Antarctic Center in Puerto Williams; the International Antarctic Center; and the Center for Dynamic Research of High Latitude Marine Ecosystems (IDEAL).
Minister Díaz also attended the panel “Youth Climate Ambassadors for Latin America: Bringing Science and Action for Climate Empowerment to International Negotiations,” organized by The Climate Reality Project, and Chile’s Environment Department (DIMA) and Foreign Affairs Ministry; as well as the conference “Marine Protected Areas: Promoting Science for Biodiversity and Mitigation,” organized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the MERI Foundation.