THIN ICE 2026

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An urgent update on our changing climate

THIN ICE was filmed more than 15 years ago. Since that time, atmospheric CO2 levels and global temperatures have risen dramatically, threatening to melt polar ice sheets, with very real consequences for society.

Join noted raconteur Te Radar and Film Director Simon Lamb for a showcase of clips from the film alongside current assessments of the evidence from those same scientists featured in the original – now internationally recognised experts. We’ll also hear from policy and governance experts about potential solutions.

About the event

The event is initiated by Emeritus Professor Peter Barrett HonFGS NZAM FRSNZ, Executive Producer of the film. Peter and colleagues pioneered multi-national projects between 1973 and 1999, using the sea ice as a platform to drill core samples from the strata beneath to reconstruct the history of the Antarctic ice sheet over 34 million years. He was the Founding Director of the Antarctic Research Centre.

This event is supported by the Antarctic Research Centre of Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, the New Zealand Antarctic Society, and the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Invitations are being extended to all Members of Parliament.

Speakers

• Te Radar, compere for the evening, is a raconteur and Antarctic history enthusiast. His acclaimed show Antarcticana is a comedic look at the history of exploration of the great Southern Land. He travelled there by ship on Garth Morgan’s 2012 Our Far South expedition, directing the documentary of the voyage via the Subantarctic Islands, and the Ross Sea.
• Adjunct Professor Simon Lamb has had a long-standing involvement in public understanding of science, and has worked on many BBC science documentaries. He was Lecturer in Geology at Oxford University for many years. He co-directed Thin Ice (2013), a joint project with Oxford University.
• Emeritus Professor Dave Lowe FRSNZ FNZSSS is an atmospheric chemist and the first person to make continuous atmospheric CO2 measurements in the Southern Hemisphere. He is a lead author on work that was recognised with a Nobel Peace Prize.
• Professor Nancy Bertler is a glaciologist at the Antarctic Research Centre, and Principal Scientist for Earth Sciences New Zealand. She has led major Antarctic ice coring projects and heads the National Ice Core Research Facility. She is now directing a nine-nation investigation of recent abrupt changes in sea-ice and their global consequences.
• Professor Tim Naish NZAM FRSNZ is a climate scientist at the Antarctic Research Centre interested in past and future ice-sheet and sea-level changes, Co-Leader of the Aotearoa programme Our Changing Coast, and Chair of the Joint Scientific Committee for the World Climate Research Programme.
• Dr Andy Reisinger is an independent consultant working on climate modelling, mitigation, and adaptation who has led workstreams at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ag Emissions Centre, and the Ministry for the Environment. He is currently a Commissioner at He Pou a Rangi, New Zealand's Climate Change Commission, but is contributing to this event in his capacity as independent expert.
• Emeritus Professor Jonathan Boston ONZM is a public policy researcher with interests in public management, tertiary education, long-term governance, environmental policy and the design of the welfare state. In recent years he has published extensively on climate change adaptation.
• Rt Hon Simon Upton PC FRSNZ, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Rhodes Scholar, Privy Councillor, and former politician having held several Ministerial portfolios including Environment. In his current role, he provides independent reports and advice, and has broad powers to investigate environmental concerns.

Doors will open at 4:00pm, with talks from 4:30 to 6:00pm, and refreshments served until 7:30pm.

This event will be recorded for later release. Livestream is not available.