IPCC's Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere outlines how changes to the world's oceans pose a significant threat to people and nature; TNC calls for urgent climate change solutions and revolutionary changes to ocean protection.
Today, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere. This report examines changes in our oceans that impact sustainable development and emphasize that inaction on climate mitigation and ocean and cryosphere protection will have disastrous consequences for people and nature.
Just as last year's Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C galvanized unprecedented attention around climate breakdown, this IPCC report makes clear the urgent need to revolutionize and scale-up our current approaches to ocean and cryosphere protection. This report also highlights some of the potential solutions to help our oceans, which include mobilizing action for clean energy, helping vulnerable communities to become more resilient, investing in nature-based infrastructure like mangroves and coral reefs, and finding ways to improve governance.
Through our science, innovation and local-to-global partnerships, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is working to deliver solutions that boost ocean health, such as:
- Leveraging the world of finance to create investment products that value nature's assets;
- Investing in sustainable aquaculture and fisheries;
- Scaling-up the protection and restoration of coral and shellfish reefs, mangroves, and watersheds;
- Reducing human impacts in coastal waters;
- Empowering local and indigenous communities, and;
- Developing and supporting policies to increase protection and restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems, including a robust treaty for the High Seas.
