World’s oceans at a tipping point, indicates UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report

Australia's affinity for the ocean is renowned, but it is likely to be dramatically disrupted, according to the latest report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Most Australians live within 50 kilometres of the coast.

Eighty-five per cent of the population lives within 50 kilometres of the ocean — we fish, surf, swim and bask in coastal life, but beneath the sea's surface, the story is far from idyllic. 

Oceans cover more than 70 per cent of Earth's surface and are made up of a mixture of water, salt, organic materials, particulates and atmospheric gasses. 

They help to produce half of the planet's oxygen and contain important food sources. 

So, what happens in the oceans has ramifications for life on Earth — specifically what we breathe and what we eat. 

Read the ABC News story by Penny Timms - “World’s oceans at a tipping point, indicates UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.”

If we don’t protect the ocean, humanitarian disaster awaits

Overfishing and climate change threaten the vital food supply of more than one billion people. They are the driving forces behind the deteriorating health of the ocean, which is the world’s largest ecosystem and the source of oxygen and climate regulation for our entire planet, not to mention jobs and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people.

The ocean is the world’s largest ecosystem and
the source of oxygen and climate regulation for
 our entire planet.

If we do not take urgent action to restore and protect our ocean we will soon face an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. We can fix these problems. The ocean has an immense capacity to heal itself, and there are proven methods available for us to help it.

Read the World Economic Forum story by Isabella Lövin, who is the Minister for International Development Cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden - “If we don’t protect the ocean, humanitarian disaster awaits.”