Not all emitted CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere. The oceans and forests act like drainers and have an important role in reducing the impacts caused by climate change. Since the beginning of industrialisation, the oceans have absorbed 30% of the CO2 emitted. This, along with the continuous and rapid increase of emissions, has serious consequences … Read more
Oceans play a fundamental role in regulating Earth’s temperature and the natural greenhouse effect that maintains life as we know it. They are able to do so by acting as a “carbon sink” and absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2). However, due to our rapidly growing greenhouse gas emissions, too much carbon gets into the oceans, lowering … Read more
Arthur C. Clarke once said: “How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.” He wasn’t off mark. Did you know that, in terms of volume, the oceans occupy 99% of planet Earth? That’s why we wanted to honour this Earth Day by celebrating our incredible, mysterious oceans. We believe that … Read more
Red coral (sometimes called precious coral) is widely used throughout the world for jewelry, and in beauty products. The human “appetite” for this stunning coral, which dates as far back as ancient Greece and Egypt, when red coral was considered to have sacred properties, has unfortunately led to the destruction of many red coral colonies, … Read more
Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all the international conferences going on that affect the issues we care about. ICCAT came to a close on the 27th – with terribly disappointing results for bluefin and swordfish, and relatively positive results for sharks – and today, COP16, the annual climate change conference, begins. We are … Read more
The EU must strengthen its objective to reduce CO2 emissions, reaching a minimum of 30% for 2020. Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, calls attention to the need to reach a comprehensive, legally binding agreement on the CO2 emission reduction regime during the upcoming Conference on Climate Change (COP16) to be held in Cancun between … Read more
The Biodiversity Summit in Japan is kicking off week 2 and we thought we’d give you a recap with some highlights and news stories from last week. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity released a report highlighted the enourmous (but necessary) cost of altering the global economy to put value on forests, reefs and other … Read more
Climate change has been connected to some of the biggest natural disasters of the past few years – the flooding in Pakistan, the destructive hurricanes slamming the US coasts, wild fires wiping out swaths of forests, crop failures around the world, etc. But one of climate change’s most devastating side effects is rarely talked about: … Read more
What is acidification? Apart from being a powerful greenhouse gas, CO2 is also dissolved in large quantities in seawater and produces a phenomenon known as Acidification. Generally, when CO2 comes into contact with a water molecule, there is an increase in the concentration of H+ ions, which leads to a decrease of the pH levels … Read more
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We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.
Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
