Wednesday 2nd February, 2022. London. Responding to new research on the normalization of historical marine heat extremes [1] and on findings that coral reefs will disappear if our climate warms above 1.5C [2], Greenpeace UK Head Oceans Campaigner Will McCallum said: 

“If we want any coral reefs to survive for future generations, we need urgent action on land to phase out fossil fuels, and urgent action at sea to protect at least 30% of the world’s oceans from human activities by 2030. This is what scientists suggest is necessary to make sure ocean ecosystems are resilient to the worst impacts of climate change and to simultaneously protect natural ‘blue carbon’ stored in those ecosystems, which constitutes the largest carbon store on Earth.

“Our climate and oceans have been sliding into crisis for many years, many ocean ecosystems have already passed ‘the point of no return’ and we need immediate action to curb this fatal trend. Next month world leaders gather at the United Nations to agree on a Global Oceans Treaty. This is the end of a long negotiation process, and it must be the start of a new era in marine conservation.”