{"id":40077118,"date":"2019-09-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/china-dialogue-ocean-staging.darkbluehq.com\/uncategorized\/10234-solutions-to-climate-change-ocean\/"},"modified":"2022-02-10T23:01:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T17:31:18","slug":"10234-solutions-to-climate-change-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/10234-solutions-to-climate-change-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean holds solutions to help tackle climate change, report finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scaling up renewables, greening the shipping industry and eating more seaweed are among the ocean-based solutions that could help to meet global targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a landmark report. In the first analysis of its kind, scientists and policymakers found that the ocean can play a much bigger role in climate mitigation than previously thought.<\/p>\n

It has the potential to deliver more than one-fifth (21%) of the emission cuts needed by 2050 in order to keep global average temperature rise to the Paris Agreement<\/a> target of 1.5C \u2013 the equivalent of closing all of the world\u2019s coal-fired power plants.<\/p>\n

It shows that the ocean is much more than a victim of climate change. It is also a powerful source of solutions. \u201cGiven political will, appropriate policy and investment in technology, the ocean could be a new ally in the fight,\u201d the authors write in the report<\/a> entitled \u201cThe ocean as a solution for climate change: Five opportunities for action\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur future health and prosperity are closely linked to the state of the ocean,\u201d said Erna Solberg, co-chair of the panel and the prime minister of Norway. \u201cThis report signals an exciting new pathway to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future. Coupled with land-based emissions cuts, it shows that ocean-climate action could provide a lifeline for the economies, food sources, coastal communities and sea life at the frontline of climate disruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was released in New York on Monday at the UN Climate Action Summit<\/a>, two days ahead of the UN climate panel (IPCC)\u2019s special report on the\u00a0ocean\u00a0and cryosphere<\/a>, which is expected to highlight the devastating impacts that climate change is having on the ocean and human wellbeing.<\/p>\n

Excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have made the world\u2019s oceans warmer, more acidic, less able to hold oxygen and less productive. The impact of these changes is being seen in severe coral bleaching, sea-level rise, rapid Arctic ice loss, extreme storms. Without action, the IPCC is expected to warn, these impacts will get much worse, threatening the future of everyone \u2013 but particularly the most vulnerable people living in small island states and along densely populated coastlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor far too long the ocean has not seriously been on the radar screen of the climate change policy community,\u201d said Jane Lubchenco, former administrator of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and co-chair of the expert group which advised on the report. \u201cAs a result of this report, it needs to be squarely on the radar screen. These options are going to give us some powerful new tools in the toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report, commissioned for the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, a group of heads of government, explored five scenarios in which a healthy ocean could help mitigate climate change, develop a sustainable ocean economy, protect coastal communities from storms, provide jobs and improve food security:<\/p>\n