We hear a lot about
how carbon dioxide emissions are warming the atmosphere and changing
climate in ways that are damaging, if not catastrophic, for life on Earth.
Increasingly we are
also learning about the impact of carbon dioxide on the oceans. As the sea
absorbs carbon from the air its chemistry is changing, becoming more acidic.
This also is likely to have a profound impact on life, experts warn.
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More than 150 marine scientists from 26
countries called for immediate action by policymakers to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions sharply so as to avoid widespread and severe damage to marine
ecosystems from ocean acidification. They sounded the alarm in the Monaco
Declaration, released Friday, according to a news release by Unesco.
Ocean acidification
could affect marine food webs and lead to substantial changes in commercial
fish stocks, threatening protein supply and food security for millions of
people as well as the multi-billion dollar fishing industry, the Monaco
Declaration says.
“Coral reefs provide
fish habitat, generate billions of dollars annually in tourism, protect
shorelines from erosion and flooding, and provide the foundation for tremendous
biodiversity, equivalent to that found in tropical rain forests,” the
Declaration says.
“Yet by mid-century,
ocean acidification may render most regions chemically inhospitable to coral
reefs. These and other acidification related changes could affect a wealth of
marine goods and services, such as our ability to use the ocean to manage
waste, to provide chemicals to make new medicines, and to benefit from its
natural capacity to regulate climate.
“For instance, ocean
acidification will reduce the ocean’s capacity to absorb anthropogenic CO2,
which will exacerbate climate change.”
To avoid severe and
widespread damages, all of which are ultimately driven by increasing
concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), the scientists called for
policymakers to act quickly to incorporate these concerns into plans to
stabilize atmospheric CO2 at a safe level to avoid not only dangerous climate
change but also dangerous ocean acidification.
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Prince Albert II of
Monaco urged political leaders to heed the Monaco Declaration as they prepare
for climate negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen this year. “I strongly support this declaration, which is in full
accord with my efforts and those of my Foundation to alleviate climate change,”
he said in a news release about the declaration.
“The chemistry is so
fundamental and changes so rapid and severe that impacts on organisms appear
unavoidable,” said James Orr of the Marine Environment Laboratories (MEL-IAEA)
and chairman of the symposium, in the same news release.
“The questions are now
how bad will it be and how soon will it happen. The report from the symposium
summarizes the state of the science and priorities for future research, while
the Monaco Declaration implores political leaders to launch urgent actions to
limit the source of the problem.”
“In order to advance
the science of ocean acidification, we need to bring together the best
scientists to share their latest research results and to set priorities for
research to improve our knowledge of the processes and of the impacts of
acidification on marine ecosystems,” said Patricio Bernal, executive secretary
of Unesco IOC.
The Monaco Declaration
is based on the Research Priorities Report developed by participants at last
October’s 2nd international symposium on The Ocean in a High-CO2 World,
organized by Unesco’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the
Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), and the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme
(IGBP), with the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and
several other partners.
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