2022, “a super year for the ocean”

Alice Eymard, Ocean Focal Point, WWF (Switzerland): There has been no updated overview of the ecological situation with newer data since 2019. However, much has evolved in terms of attention that is given to the ocean in the public space. The ocean has, for too long, been largely absent from global discussions on climate change. This is changing. More than ever, policymakers and the public are aware that our climate and our ocean are in peril, and that the two are linked. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate as well as other research clearly demonstrate the urgent need to tackle the climate and ocean crises together. The magnitude of the problem requires ambitious actions, using every tool and mechanism at our disposal.

Scientists are debating when tipping points will be reached. A recent assessment shows that parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet may have already passed a tipping point. Potential early warning signals of the Greenland ice sheet, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and Amazon rainforest destabilization have been detected. For some other tipping points, change is likely to be more dispersed. We estimate that both tropical coral reef death and abrupt permafrost thaw are possible at the current warming level. But thresholds vary between reefs and patches of permafrost. Both are already happening in some places, but in our assessment, these changes become much more widespread at a similar time beyond 1.5°C. The latest science from the IPCC shows that, even if the average global temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C, 70-90% of tropical coral reefs could be gone by 2050. At 2°C or above, almost none will survive.

As the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate has highlighted, the ocean holds many solutions required to respond to climate change, yet it is suffering from increasing climate change impacts. These impacts create a feedback loop, which negatively affects the ocean’s abilities to cope with the onslaught of emissions and mismanagement. Addressing the combined crises requires integrated ocean and climate approaches and solutions. In addition, there is a need for conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems to ensure ocean resilience. If managed effectively the ocean can contribute greatly to keep our climate in balance, feed a growing population, support economic development, and protect habitats and treasured wildlife. But only a healthy ocean can provide these essential services. So, clearly, all actions that contribute to restoring the balance of the ocean are needed to enhance the ocean’s resilience. Hence WWF supports targeted initiatives to restore ocean health and support the social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainable development [see below].

Currently the ocean beyond national jurisdiction of states is managed via a patchwork of international agreements. Each covers only a sector or a region, and none provide a comprehensive system for protecting the marine environment, its species, and habitats. Some activities such as cable laying – so important for today’s internet-based economies and communication systems – are not covered by any agreement or management arrangement. Given the increasing activities in these areas, and the impacts of relatively new problems such as plastic pollution, there is an urgent need to ensure all human activities in this area are managed through a holistic approach that has biodiversity (ocean life) and ecosystem functions (and services to humanity) at its heart. A new treaty is being negotiated as an international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), known as the High Seas Treaty for short. It will complement the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by improving the legal framework applicable to areas beyond national jurisdiction. The treaty must be ambitious enough to tackle current and potential future problems facing the ocean, thus helping to ensure ocean health for current and future generations. It is also important that negotiators are given the political signal to finish the job, so that the treaty can enter into force and be implemented without delay. The ocean is under pressure; the BBNJ Ocean Treaty can and must help alleviate that pressure. Only then can we set the ocean on a path to recovery and sustainability.

For too long, the ocean has been absent from climate talks as well as from other global political agendas. In recent years, policymakers and the public have grown aware that our climate and our ocean are in peril. This is already a big step forward. Reaffirming that the ocean is fundamental to life on our planet and to our future, the signatories to the Lisbon Declaration (UN Ocean Conference, June 2022) emphasised the particular importance of implementing the Paris Agreement of 2015, and last November’s Glasgow Climate Pact to help ensure the health, productivity, sustainable use and resilience of the ocean.

WWF has no data on this and therefore cannot answer the question. Greenwashing has been around for decades but has potentially grown in past years as a result of growing consumer demand for green products. There are 150 ocean commitments from the private sector registered on the SDG website. WWF’s blueprint for corporate climate action defines a robust mitigation hierarchy, where a company cannot easily or cost-effectively reduce or avoid offsetting its carbon emissions but focus on real and Paris-aligned reductions first.

All those. Ocean action is climate action. The time for action is now. At UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh (6-18 November 2022), WWF will continue to advocate for integrated ocean and climate action and finance as integral to achieving global climate goals. The ocean–climate agenda is three-fold:

• Ensure the outcomes from the Ocean-Climate Dialogue are presented at COP27 and priority interventions and tangible actions are embedded in the COP decision documents, reflecting tangible actions for implementation. The ocean is essential to a functioning climate. A recurring ocean-climate dialogue is essential to future climate agreements.
• Parties must scale and mainstream ocean-based climate solutions, strengthen ocean-climate action and finance and include these commitments in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) as part of their Paris Agreement commitments. At least half of climate finance should be invested in adaptation and developed countries must immediately meet the $100bn/year climate finance commitment.
• Advance coastal adaptation and resilience for coastal communities on the front lines. Action must be taken now to strengthen the mitigation, adaptation and resilience potential of the ocean, as well as dependent communities, through nature-based solutions and actions that deliver net-zero outcomes.

WWF is committed to three ambitious goals for ocean conservation:

• Zero loss of natural habitats: conserve and effectively manage at least 30% of coastal and marine ecosystems by 2030.
• Halve Footprint: halve the world’s unsustainably managed fisheries by 2030.
• Zero extinction: halt overexploitation of species and recover and stabilize previously threatened species by 2030.