The acid truth about our oceans: experts urge action to limit
ocean acidification
29 November 2011
Ocean acidification can no longer
remain on the periphery of the international debates on climate
change and the environment and should be addressed by the United
Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change and other
global environmental conventions, urges International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Ocean
Acidification Reference User Group (RUG) at the climate change
summit in Durban.
In the run up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development,
which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in June next year (Rio+20),
world experts from RUG call for decision makers to urgently address
the critical issue of ocean acidification.
“The increasing amounts of carbon dioxide that we emit into the
atmosphere every day are changing our oceans, steadily increasing
their acidity, and dramatically affecting marine life,” says
Professor Dan Laffoley, Marine Vice Chair of IUCN’s World
Commission on Protected Areas and Chair of RUG. “This may
also have severe impacts on human life in the future. Only by
reducing our CO2 emissions and enhancing the protection
of oceans to strengthen their ability to recover, can we
effectively address this issue. Policy makers in Durban, and in Rio
in June next year, need to recognise this and take appropriate
actions.”
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the
atmosphere, particularly CO2, which is the main driver
of climate change and the main cause of ocean acidification, is one
of the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. But
the latest RUG publication calls for a
broader strategy to reduce ocean acidification, alongside those
tackling other threats to the marine environment such as
overfishing and pollution.
According to the experts, although both
climate change and ocean acidification are caused by excessive
amounts of CO2 emissions, and so should be tackled
together, not all approaches used to address the former will be
effective in the fight against the latter.
"For example, ‘geoengineering' solutions, such
as reflecting solar radiation, which are often suggested
to deal with climate change, will not address the progressive
acidification of the ocean," says Dr John Baxter of the
Scottish Natural Heritage and Deputy Chair of the RUG.
"Both climate change and acidification need to be taken into
account when designing solutions to these challenges."
Each year, the ocean absorbs approximately 25%
of all the CO2 we emit. Its acidity has increased by 30%
since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and acidification
will continue at an unprecedented rate in the coming
decades. This can have a negative impact
on marine organisms, especially the 'calcifying’ ones
such as shellfish, molluscs, coral reefs and various types of
zooplankton and phytoplankton. Increasing ocean acidity requires
them to use more energy to build their shells, which has
potentially severe ecological consequences. If the current
acidification rate continues, it could lead to extinctions
of some species and impact others that feed on them.
“Through its ability to absorb large amounts
of CO2, the ocean plays a crucial role in moderating the
rate and severity of climate change”, says Dr Carol
Turley from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Knowledge
Exchange Coordinator for the UK Ocean Acidification Research
Programme, one of the partners of the Reference User
Group. “But in many ways our ocean is also a victim of its
own success, as this capacity jeopardizes its future health,
its biodiversity and its ability to continue to provide us
with food and sustainable economic development. Ocean acidification
requires urgent and effective action now, before it’s too late. The
obvious action is to reduce CO2 emissions to the
atmosphere."