Oceana CEO issues statement ahead of new IPCC climate & oceans report - Oceana

Oceana CEO issues statement ahead of new IPCC climate & oceans report

Press Release Date: September 24, 2019

Location: Washington, DC

Contact:

Anna Baxter | email: abaxter@oceana.org
Anna Baxter

Today, Andrew Sharpless, CEO of Oceana, issued the following statement in anticipation of the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate,” which includes global scientific findings concerning the vast consequences climate change has on the oceans.

“As will be made clear in this report, the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on our oceans have consequences for the hundreds of millions around the world who depend on them for their livelihoods and food. 90 percent of all extra heat from human-caused carbon emissions are absorbed by the oceans, causing a rise in average ocean temperature[1]. A warming ocean, combined with destructive practices, has impacted global fish stocks and led to ecosystem degradation, endangering food security and threatening coastal economies and local fishers.

We need to, right now, work to make our seas as abundant and resilient as possible. With the support and guidance of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Vibrant Oceans Initiative and other funders, Oceana is winning victories that help end overfishing, rebuild fisheries and preserve habitat though the establishment of science-based management and protected areas in some of the largest fishing countries on the planet. We need to create more resilient, abundant oceans for the millions who will continue to rely on them in the face of a warming planet.”