Saving oceans’ health asset to international climate action

AS the world looks forward to the convening of the climate summit (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh nearly four months from now, the drive for taming global climate changers gained a significant addition last Friday with the issuance of the UN Lisbon Declaration which acknowledged that climate change is “one of the greatest challenges of our time”; hence the need to “act decisively and urgently to improve the health, productivity, sustainable use and resilience of the ocean and its ecosystems.”  Marking the conclusion of a five-day international conference themed “Scaling up Ocean Action Based on Science and Innovation for the Implementation of Goal 14: Stocktaking, Partnerships and Solutions,” the Lisbon Declaration helped cast new highlight on the link between biodiversity preservation and the drive to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. The timing of this international call is significant since the Sharm el-Sheikh world climate summit is just four months away.

Specifically, oceans are scientifically known to possess a capacity for absorbing nearly one fourth of all carbon dioxide emissions and some 90 per cent of the warming that results from such emissions. Oceans, according to the UN conference’s website, are “not just the lungs of the planet but also the largest carbon sink – a vital buffer against the impacts of the climate change.” Accentuating the importance of oceans in any climate change consideration is the fact that they represent the planet’s largest biosphere since they cover as much as 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface and are home to nearly 80 per cent of all life on our planet. Furthermore, it is on the bottom of oceans that large amounts of energy resources exist; and it is also on their surfaces that much of the world’s trade navigates it way, transporting raw materials, processed goods and industrial products, in effect enabling world economy to remain in action for the benefit of all countries.

It follows therefore that for international climate action to achieve its targets especially as envisaged under Goal 14 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ‘health’ of oceans needs to be duly protected and its sustainability be ensured. Under the circumstances, oceans are facing a plethora of risks and dangers, resulting mainly from multiple-source marine pollution, illegal and over-fishing, acidification, encroachment on marine ecosystems and increasing waste dumping or throwing. By all standards, the mixture naturally generates alarming pressure on the biosphere, in the process adversely affecting the capacity of oceans to serve as the lung of our planet and the largest source of the biodiversity that the Earth needs to maintain its natural balance. Effective measures, especially if based upon science, high tech and innovation, to protect oceans against all such risks would contribute to the development of a largely resourceful international climate action.