An analysis of official climate commitments shows that only a handful of nations worldwide have included initiatives relating to the oceans.
The oceans cover 71 per cent of the Earth's surface. They represent the principal element of global climate regulation. On a global scale, they provide 50 per cent of the oxygen we breathe, absorb 90 per cent of the planet's excess heat and approximately 30 per cent of CO2 emissions resulting from human activities. Their role in the fight against climate change is therefore crucial. Yet governments around the world do not appear to have grasped this sufficiently.
A study entitled "Ocean commitments under the Paris Agreement", cited by the French daily Le Monde, measured the extent to which the oceans were taken into account within the INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) — that is, the pledges made by governments around the world ahead of COP 21 in 2015 with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The results show that the issue was addressed almost exclusively by small island states and those with a particularly high proportion of their population living near coastlines.
"Tonga, for example," the French newspaper continues, "proposes among its mitigation measures the doubling of the number of marine protected areas on its territory. Djibouti wants to install turbines to harness tidal energy. Other states are proposing the reintroduction and conservation of mangroves or coastal adaptation and pollution management initiatives." By contrast, numerous developed nations, such as the United States and the European Union member states, did not include the subject in their INDCs. Neither did Australia, despite the warming of waters and ocean acidification gradually compromising the Great Barrier Reef as a result of bleaching.
"The oceans and the ecosystems they host," Le Monde further noted, "are therefore a fundamental component of the climate system. And they are under threat from human activities. In this sense, failing to include them in the commitments made by states is symptomatic of a lack of political understanding of the global environment in which we live."
With the precise aim of raising awareness of the importance of protecting marine systems, at COP 23 an Ocean Action Day was co-organised by, among others, Unesco, FAO and the Global Ocean Forum. Nine working sessions allowed every aspect of the issue to be addressed: from fisheries to renewable energy, from the migrations that will become a reality for some populations living in coastal areas to the question of financing for marine conservation projects. It remains to be seen whether, in the updates to the INDCs to be carried out during 2018, the subject will be given greater consideration.
