Ocean Acidification Summary for Policymakers – Third
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Slow-Onset Processes and Resulting Loss and Damage
Publication Series ADDRESSING LOSS AND DAMAGE FROM SLOW-ONSET PROCESSES Slow-onset Processes and Resulting Loss and Damage – An introduction Table of contents L 4 22 ist of a bbre Summary of Loss and damage via tio key facts and due to slow-onset ns definitions processes AR4 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 6 22 What is loss and damage? Introduction AR5 IPCC Fifth Assessment Report COP Conference of the Parties to the 23 United Nations Framework Convention on 9 What losses and damages IMPRINT Climate Change can result from slow-onset Slow-onset ENDA Environment Development Action Energy, processes? Authors Environment and Development Programme processes and their Laura Schäfer, Pia Jorks, Emmanuel Seck, Energy key characteristics 26 Oumou Koulibaly, Aliou Diouf ESL Extreme Sea Level What losses and damages Contributors GDP Gross Domestic Product 9 can result from sea level rise? Idy Niang, Bounama Dieye, Omar Sow, Vera GMSL Global mean sea level What is a slow-onset process? Künzel, Rixa Schwarz, Erin Roberts, Roxana 31 Baldrich, Nathalie Koffi Nguessan GMSLR Global mean sea level rise 10 IOM International Organization on Migration What are key characteristics Loss and damage Editing Adam Goulston – Scize Group LLC of slow-onset processes? in Senegal due to IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sea level rise Layout and graphics LECZ Low-elevation coastal zone 14 Karin Roth – Wissen in Worten OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs What are other relevant January 2021 terms for the terminology on 35 RCP Representative -
Ocean Acidification in Washington State
University of Washington • Washington Sea Grant Ocean Acidification in Washington State What is Ocean Acidification? OA in Washington State cean Acidification (or ‘OA’) is a long-term decrease ur region is experiencing ocean acidification sooner Oin seawater pH that is primarily caused by the Oand more severely than expected, due to a combina- ocean’s uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) from the atmo- tion of human and natural causes. In the spring and sum- sphere. CO2 generated by humans’ use of fossil fuels and mer, acidification along our coast is compounded by up- deforestation has been accumulating in the atmosphere welling, which mixes deep, naturally low-pH seawater into since the industrial revolution. About one quarter of this the already acidified surface layer. In Puget Sound, nutri- CO2 is absorbed by the oceans, pH describes the acidity of a liquid ents generated by human activities (mostly where it reacts with water to form nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage, carbonic acid. As a result, the aver- fertilizers and manure) fuel processes that age pH of seawater at the ocean add even more CO2 to this ‘doubly-acidified’ surface has already dropped by ~0.1 seawater. The combination can be deadly units, a 30% increase in acidity. If to vulnerable organisms. pH levels as low atmospheric CO2 levels continue as 7.4 have been recorded in Hood Canal, to climb at the present rate, ocean an important shellfish-growing region. acidity will double by the end of this State and federal agencies, scientists, tribes, century. shellfish growers and NGOs are working together to address OA in our region. -
Ocean Acidification Due to Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide Policy document 12/05 June 2005 ISBN 0 85403 617 2 This report can be found at www.royalsoc.ac.uk ISBN 0 85403 617 2 © The Royal Society 2005 Requests to reproduce all or part of this document should be submitted to: Science Policy Section The Royal Society 6-9 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AG email [email protected] Copy edited and typeset by The Clyvedon Press Ltd, Cardiff, UK ii | June 2005 | The Royal Society Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide Contents Page Summary vi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background to the report 1 1.2 The oceans and carbon dioxide: acidification 1 1.3 Acidification and the surface oceans 2 1.4 Ocean life and acidification 2 1.5 Interaction with the Earth systems 2 1.6 Adaptation to and mitigation of ocean acidification 2 1.7 Artificial deep ocean storage of carbon dioxide 3 1.8 Conduct of the study 3 2 Effects of atmospheric CO2 enhancement on ocean chemistry 5 2.1 Introduction 5 2.2 The impact of increasing CO2 on the chemistry of ocean waters 5 2.2.1 The oceans and the carbon cycle 5 2.2.2 The oceans and carbon dioxide 6 2.2.3 The oceans as a carbonate buffer 6 2.3 Natural variation in pH of the oceans 6 2.4 Factors affecting CO2 uptake by the oceans 7 2.5 How oceans have responded to changes in atmospheric CO2 in the past 7 2.6 Change in ocean chemistry due to increases in atmospheric CO2 from human activities 9 2.6.1 Change to the oceans -
9. AM Ecocide
Amendments to draft resolution On the crime of Ecocide № Party Line Action Current Text Proposed Amendment Explanation 1 Bündnis 90/ 1 replace On an international recognition of the Tackle environmental destruction: Die Grünen crime of ecocide: 2 Bündnis 90/ 25 replace that global warming must be limited to agreed to holding the increase in the global Die Grünen 1,5°C. average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognising that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. Amendments on Draft Resolution on an international recognition of the crime of ecocide European Green Party - 5th Congress, Liverpool, UK, 30 March-2 April 2017 1 № Party Line Action Current Text Proposed Amendment Explanation 3 Vihreät - De 30-36 delete According to environmental scientists Not necessary for making the point, Gröna Johan Rockström (Stockholm Resilience the chapter draws the attention Centre) and Will Steffen (Australian away from the point of the National University), these are two among resolution making it unnecessarily four “planetary boundaries” that have long. 4 Strana 30-36 replace already been exceeded. These “planetary These present two out of nine “planetary The original text presents the zelenych boundaries” involve nine thresholds on boundaries”, or nine thresholds on core concept of "planetary boundaries" (Czech core environmental issues (greenhouse gas environmental issues, beyond which human only as an opinion of Rockstrom Greens) amount in atmosphere, biodiversity, but existence would be threatened. The concept and Steffen and, moreover, it does also ocean acidification, land use for crop, has been introduced by a group of not state any source, that this consumption of freshwater...) beyond international scientists, led by Johan opinion is based on. -
Ocean Acidification and the Permo- Triassic Mass Extinction: Process and Manifestation
Goldschmidt2015 Abstracts Ocean acidification and the permo- Triassic mass extinction: Process and manifestation S. A. KASEMANN1, R. WOOD2*, M. O. CLARKSON3, T. M. LENTON4, S. J. DAINES4, S. RICHOZ5, F. OHNEMUELLER1, A. MEIXNER1, S. W. POULTON6 AND E. T. TIPPER7 1Department of Geosciences & MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Bremen, Germany 2School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, UK (*[email protected]) 3Department of Chemistry, Univ. of Otago, New Zealand 4College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Exeter 5Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Graz, Austria 6School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, UK 7Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK Ocean acidification triggered by Siberian Trap volcanism was a possible kill mechanism for the Permian-Triassic Boundary (PTB) mass extinction, but direct evidence for an acidification event is lacking. We present a high resolution seawater pH record across this interval, utilizing boron isotope data (δ11B) combined with petrographic analysis and a quantitative modeling approach. Through this integration we are able to produce an envelope that encompasses the most realistic range in pH, which then allows us to resolve three distinct chronological phases of carbon cycle perturbation, each with very different environmental consequences for the Late Permian-Early Triassic Earth system. In the latest Permian, increased ocean alkalinity, primed the Earth system with a low level of atmospheric CO2 and a high ocean buffering capacity. The first phase of extinction was coincident with a slow injection of carbon into the atmosphere and ocean pH remained stable. During the second extinction pulse, however, a rapid and large injection of carbon caused an abrupt acidification event that drove the preferential loss of heavily calcified marine biota. -
Ocean Acidification During the Early Toarcian
https://doi.org/10.1130/G47781.1 Manuscript received 20 April 2020 Revised manuscript received 29 June 2020 Manuscript accepted 6 July 2020 © 2020 The Authors. Gold Open Access: This paper is published under the terms of the CC-BY license. Published online 13 August 2020 Ocean acidification during the early Toarcian extinction event: Evidence from boron isotopes in brachiopods Tamás Müller1*, Hana Jurikova2,3, Marcus Gutjahr2, Adam Tomašových1, Jan Schlögl4, Volker Liebetrau2, Luís v. Duarte5, Rastislav Milovský1, Guillaume Suan6, Emanuela Mattioli6,7, Bernard Pittet6 and Anton Eisenhauer2 1 Earth Science Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dˇ umbierska 1, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia 2 GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel, Wischhofstr. 1-3, 24148 Kiel, Germany 3 GFZ Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum–Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany 4 Department of Geology and Paleontology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina, Ilkovicˇova 6, SK-842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia 5 University of Coimbra, MARE–Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre–Department of Earth Sciences, Polo II, Rua Sílvio Lima, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal 6 Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENSL, CNRS, LGL-TPE, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France 7 Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France ABSTRACT methane, have also been postulated (Hesselbo The loss of carbonate production during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ca. et al., 2000; Them et al., 2017). 183 Ma) is hypothesized to have been at least partly triggered by ocean acidification linked The changes in the carbon cycle are globally to magmatism from the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province (southern Africa and Antarc- expressed as a short negative shift in the car- tica). -
Ocean Acidification and Climate Change: Synergies and Challenges
n synthesis 5 Ocean acidification and climate change: synergies and challenges of addressing both under the UNFCCC ELLYCIA R. HARROULD-KOLIEB1, DOROTHE´E HERR2* 1 10 School of Land and Environment, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia 2 Global Marine and Polar Programme, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Suite 300, 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA 15 Ocean acidification and climate change are linked by their common driver: CO2. Climate change is the consequence of a range of GHG emissions, but ocean acidification on a global scale is caused solely by increased concentrations of atmospheric CO2. Reducing CO2 emissions is therefore the most effective way to mitigate ocean acidification. Acting to prevent further ocean acidification by reducing CO2 emissions will also provide simultaneous benefits by alleviating future climate change. Although it is possible that reducing CO2 emissions to a level low enough to address ocean acidification will simultaneously address climate change, the reverse is unfortunately not necessarily true. Despite the ocean’s integral role in the climate system and the 20 potentially wide-ranging impacts on marine life and humans, the problem of ocean acidification is largely absent from most policy discussions pertaining to CO2 emissions. The linkages between ocean acidification, climate change and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are identified and possible scenarios for developing common solutions to reduce and adapt to ocean acidification and climate change are offered. Areas where the UNFCCC is currently lacking capacity to effectively tackle rising ocean acidity are also highlighted. 25 Keywords: climate change; climate policy; ocean acidification; oceans; UNFCCC L’acidification des oce´ans et le changement climatique sont lie´s par leur cause commune : le CO2. -
Climate Torts and Ecocide in the Context of Proposals for an International Environmental Court
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations and Theses City College of New York 2011 Climate Torts and Ecocide in the Context of Proposals for an International Environmental Court Patrick Foster CUNY City College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/40 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Climate Torts and Ecocide in the Context of Proposals for an International Environmental Court Patrick Foster Graduating June, 2011 Advisor: Professor Jürgen Dedring Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of International Affairs at the City College of New York TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER ONE: NECESSITY AND FEASIBILITY...................................................................................4 CAUSES OF ACTION AND THEORIES OF JUSTICE...............................................................................................5 DIPLOMATIC THEORY IN THE CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL TREATY MAKING ...........................................7 CHAPTER TWO: INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL TORTS: CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION .......................................................................................................................................................9 -
The Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management
The Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management Prepared and adopted by participants of the Ocean Acidification Workshop, convened by The Nature Conservancy, 12-14 August 2008, Hawaii 1 IUCN Global Marine Programme Founded in 1948, The World Conservation Union brings together States, government agencies and a diverse range of non-governmental organizations in a unique world partnership: over 1000 members in all, spread across some 140 countries. As a Union, IUCN seeks to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. The IUCN Global Marine Programme provides vital linkages for the Union and its members to all the IUCN activities that deal with marine issues, including projects and initiatives of the Regional offices and the 6 IUCN Commissions. The IUCN Global Marine Programme works on issues such as integrated coastal and marine management, fisheries, marine protected areas, large marine ecosystems, coral reefs, marine invasives and protection of high and deep seas. The Nature Conservancy The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Conservancy launched the Global Marine Initiative in 2002 to protect and restore the most resilient examples of ocean and coastal ecosystems in ways that benefit marine life, local communities and economies. The Conservancy operates over 100 marine conservation projects in more than 21 countries and 22 U.S. -
Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Acidification Relevant to the Pacific Islands
PACIFIC MARINE CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT CARD Science Review 2018: pp 31-42 Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Acidification Relevant to the Pacific Islands Andrew Lenton, Richard J. Matear, and Mathieu Mongin, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Australia. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Ocean acidification has the potential to significantly impact Pacific Island ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide. There is compelling evidence that the ocean has become more acidic in response to rising atmospheric CO2 levels. As atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise the ocean will increasingly become more acidic, and these changes are likely to persist for hundreds to thousands of years. The rate and magnitude of these changes will be directly proportional to the future carbon emission pathway followed. While a low carbon emissions pathway will clearly limit the impacts of ocean acidification, a high carbon emission pathway will lead to conditions that will threaten the long-term viability of important marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs. In the future, increased confidence in projected changes will come through a better understanding of how the large-scale changes are modulated by processes at the island scale. This will be achieved through a combination of sustained long-term measurements and higher-resolution modelling. There is also critical need to understand the impact of multiple environmental stressors, as future ocean acidification will be accompanied by ocean warming and other environmental consequences (e.g. invasive species). Finally, implementation of a viable emission pathway is urgently needed to underpin the development of sustainable adaption and resilience options, and to explore potential engineering and adaptation solutions that may be required to offset long-term ocean acidification changes. -
Ocean Acidification and the UNFCCC
Climate Change and Ocean Acidification Synergies and Opportunities within the UNFCCC Discussion Paper Ellycia Harrould-Kolieba and Dorothée Herrb Executive Summary Ocean acidification is arguably one of the most serious threats facing the oceans and humans this century. Ocean acidification is not a symptom of climate change; rather, it is a threat concurrent with climate change and caused by a common root problem: ongoing anthropogenic CO2 emissions. It is a serious global challenge of unprecedented scale and importance that requires immediate action. Preventing further acidification of the oceans will require stabilizing and reducing the level of CO2 in the atmosphere, which is most effectively done through reducing CO2 emissions. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is clearly an appropriate environmental policy regime to deal with the mitigation of ocean acidification, through CO2 reductions. It is also a suitable forum for devising and providing funding for responses to ocean acidification that can be incorporated into national adaptation plans. Many efforts are underway to raise awareness and inform policy and decision makers about ocean acidification and its potential impacts. So far, however, no concrete recommendations have been made on how ocean acidification could be integrated within the UNFCCC. This paper attempts to address this gap by offering an initial suite of possible ways to address ocean acidification alongside climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Recommendations: - Recognize -
The Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification and Reef Management
THE HONOLULU DECLARATION ON OCEAN ACIDIFICATION AND REEF MANAGEMENT Prepared and adopted by participants of the Ocean Acidification Workshop, convened by The Nature Conservancy, 12-14 August 2008, Hawaii Resilient Indo-Pacific coral reef. Copyright: Paul Marshall Background 0.1 units since the beginning of the Ocean acidification is the change in industrial revolution (Feely et al. 2004). ocean chemistry driven by the oceanic If current carbon dioxide emission uptake of chemical inputs to the trends continue, the ocean will continue atmosphere, including carbon, nitrogen to undergo acidification, to an extent and sulfur compounds (Doney et al. and at rates that have not occurred for 2007; Guinotte and Fabry 2008). The tens of millions of years. A doubling of ocean absorbs about one-third of the the concentration of atmospheric carbon carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere dioxide, which could occur in as little as by human activities each year (Sabine et 50 years, could cause major changes in al. 2004); and the pH of the ocean the marine environment, specifically surface waters has decreased by about impacting calcium carbonate organisms 1 (Orr et al. 2005). Such changes The growing threat of climate change compromise the long-term viability of combined with escalating anthropogenic coral reef ecosystems and the associated stressors on coral reefs requires a benefits that they provide. response that is both proactive and adaptive. To respond to this challenge, Coral reefs systems provide economic The Nature Conservancy convened a and environmental services to millions group of global ocean experts in of people as coastal protection from Honolulu, Hawaii from August 12-14, waves and storms, and as sources of 2008.