Tag: oceans

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the KfW Group on behalf of the German Federal Government highlighted the development achieved concerning the Clean Oceans Initiative during the IMF/World Bank Group meetings. The partners also welcomed the Spanish Promotional Bank ICO and its commitment to join the initiative.

A federal judge urged Carnival to work faster, in order to mitigate ocean pollution problems, that the company has caused. Namely, during a hearing in Miami, US District Judge Patricia Seitz noted that more concrete actions and less promises are needed from Carnival.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report highlights the urgency to prioritize timely, ambitious and coordinated action to address unprecedented and enduring changes in the ocean and cryosphere. The report also reveals the benefits of ambitious and effective adaptation for sustainable development and the increasing costs and risks of delayed action.

With the ocean absorbing vast quantities of heat, increased concentrations of GHG are reported in the atmosphere, mainly from fossil fuel consumption. In fact, the Fifth Assessment Report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013 indicated that the ocean had absorbed over 93% of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions since the 1970s. This is leading ocean temperatures to increase.

One of the biggest challenges that the global marine research is currently facing is the lack of knowledge. In comparison to the innovation and research that takes place on land, data-driven marine research is far behind. The fact is that there are several smaller data initiatives and platforms in the world today, but not an all-encompassing platform combining it all. The Ocean Data Platform is an initiative aiming to change this.

Have you ever wondered how deep the ocean really is? This animation puts the actual distance into perspective, showing a vast distance between the waves we see and the mysterious point we call 'Challenger Deep', putting into perspective the depth that human divers or submarines have ever reached, the depth that marine species can live and the depth that Titanic is lying.

The Government of Canada announced earlier in 2019 that it is investing $2.4 million in scientific research at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, to boost knowledge on oil spill response as part of its efforts to keep its oceans clean, safe and healthy.

The data available to conclude to the definitive map of the world’s ocean floor has more than doubled, two years after the start of an international effort to produce a complete map by 2030. Namely, after the efforts of the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, coverage of the world’s ocean floor has grew from 6% to 15%.

The UK Government created 41 new marine conservation zones (MCZs) one week ahead of World Oceans Day. The new zones will be added to the existent ones, reaching the overall 91 zones, and covering roughly 32,000 square kilometres. 

On the sidelines of the Empowering Women in the Maritime Community Conference in early April, the World Maritime University (WMU) and the Government of Canada jointly announced a major research project on the theme 'Empowering Women for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development'.