Earth's oceans are not simply a passive victim of climate change but instead provide a previously unappreciated opportunity to provide solutions towards reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, argue Ove Hoegh-Guildberg and colleagues in a Policy Forum. Acting on certain ocean-focused emissions activities could help reduce emissions by a substantial percentage of what would be required to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, they say. Two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports - including the upcoming a special report on the the cryosphere planned for 25 September - illustrate the immense impact global climate change is inflicting on the planet's oceans, as well as on the livelihoods of billions of people who rely on ocean ecosystems for their wellbeing. The reports sound the alarm about the urgent need to rapidly decarbonize all sectors of the global economy. A third report that Hoegh-Guildberg and colleagues highlight, from the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (HLP), discusses the feasibility of reducing the emissions of ocean-based activities and the significant impact this could have. Based on the HLP report, Hoegh-Guildberg and colleagues discuss several ways in which actionable changes could be implemented in the short term. They outline the requirements in research, technology and policy development that would be required. The ocean areas ripe for mitigation potential include ocean-based renewable energy, marine shipping and transport, and coastal ecosystem restoration. Hoegh-Guildberg et al. suggest that addressing these activities could reduce global emissions by nearly 11 billion tons in 2050, an amount accounting for nearly 21% of the reductions required to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by this date.
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Journal
Science