Following on the heels of the first-ever IPCC Special Report on the impact of climate breakdown on the ocean, State Parties to the 25th UNFCCC Conference must finally recognize the ocean within both their commitments and action.

Achieving the 1.5OC target agreed at COP 21 in Paris is vital and profoundly urgent as the timescales at work within the ocean mean that changes already put into its system – such as heating – will remain at work for hundreds of years. Consequently, even with immediate action to curb temperature rise and cut CO2 emissions, ocean services to the planet could still be at risk.

Climate breakdown is impacting the entire ocean through heating, acidification and deoxygenation. The changes are unpredictable and there are continuous surprises for scientists, including the recent increase in marine heatwaves. Unless CO2 emissions are limited to prevent heating of more than 1.5C, we will see increasingly extreme and less predictable consequences for the ocean as tipping points are passed.” Professor Alex Rogers of the University of Oxford said.

Action has to be taken to hold warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. We need to see all states commit to more ambitious NDCs and go further to prevent the climate crisis from deepening and irreparably damaging the ocean upon which all life depends” said Rémi Parmentier, Secretary of The Because the Ocean Initiative.

Far more ambitious NDCs are vital to holding heating at 1.5OC, but governments must also take action to remove the threats to the ocean which are within their immediate control, such as overfishing. Peggy Kalas of the High Seas Alliance said: “The importance of protecting the biodiversity of the whole ocean cannot be overstated, it is essential in combatting climate breakdown and maintaining the life support system that makes our planet habitable. Currently, two-thirds of the ocean, almost half the planet, falls outside the protection of law and that’s why it is so important that we secure a new, robust high seas treaty in 2020."

The September 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, made it clear that the ocean is bearing the brunt of the crisis, resulting in acidification, heating and deoxygenation: the three factors present in every mass extinction event in Earth’s history.

This is why it is so important that all extraneous stressors on the ocean which can be controlled, are controlled.  Overfishing, pollution, and destruction of habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity are all stressors that can be stopped in order to support the resilience of the ocean to withstand the climate crisis.

Between now and the end of 2020, the High Seas – the area beyond the national jurisdiction of any state, which makes up half the planet and two-thirds of the whole ocean – should be protected under international law. A new treaty is being negotiated at the United Nations and states should complete this in 2020 in line with a UN General Assembly resolution, and with high ambition.

State Parties to the legally binding Convention on Biological Diversity will negotiate new targets to protect biodiversity at a meeting in 2020. The target for marine biodiversity should be to protect at least 30% of the ocean through implemented highly and fully protected areas, with the remaining 70% of the ocean sustainably managed.

Bringing an end to overfishing and pollution in all its forms and preventing further biodiversity, ecosystem and habitat loss are essential measures within our reach.

The role of the ocean in mitigating climate change, provisioning humankind through food, freshwater and oxygen and ameliorating extreme weather is not currently recognized within the UNFCCC process.

~ENDS~

The OneOcean initiative is an unbranded platform for ocean NGOs from around the world. A database of experts able to speak about key ocean issues covered in the IPCC report is available at www.oceanprotect.org/spokespeople/

Briefing notes and quotes on key areas are available at www.oceanprotect.org/category/key-activities/

For assistance please contact:

Patricia Roy in Paris/Madrid – [email protected]