New platform linking oceans and climate launched in Madrid

News: At the 25th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP25), Platform of Science-based Ocean Solutions has been launched

Facts:

About Platform of Science-based Ocean Solutions

Aim: It aims to enhance the sharing of knowledge created by various actors in the ocean and climate community to advance ocean-climate action.

Objectives:

• To encourage the incorporation of the ocean in climate strategies (NDCs, NAPs, Adaptation Communications, and National Policy Frameworks).
• To facilitate access to key resources and solutions for the ocean,
• To highlight the importance of the IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) and its main findings, as the best available science for the planning and implementation of national policies
• To involve and engage a large number of actors in ocean-climate action: academia, the public sector, the private sector and the civil society

Additional Information

IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC): It was released in September 2019.

Key takeaways:

• The global ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat in the climate system.
• It has also absorbed 20-30% of total human-caused carbon dioxide emissions since the 1980s, causing increasing surface acidification.
• Since 1993, the rate of ocean warming has more than doubled. It has resulted in marine heatwaves doubling in frequency since 1982 and increasing in intensity.
•  It is very likely that between 84–90 % of marine heatwaves that occurred between 2006 and 2015 are attributable to the anthropogenic temperature increase.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• The IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations.
• It was founded in 1988. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
•  It provides policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks. It also puts forward adaptation and mitigation options.
• The IPCC does not carry out original research, nor does it monitor climate or related phenomena itself. It assesses published literature including peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources.
• The IPCC publishes main Assessment Reports every five or six years. It also publishes a series of special reports to provide an assessment on a specific issue.