"This is a very positive development towards the mitigation of the negative effects of climate change on our oceans. It is in line with the efforts the European Commission is undertaking to improve ocean governance. We need to have a better understanding of the impact of climate change on the oceans in order to take adequate policy decisions to ensure their good governance. We urgently need to reduce threats on the oceans and develop the blue economy in a sustainable manner." said Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and the Environment.

Climate change is already affecting the oceans. Melting ice is raising the sea-level, higher temperatures are affecting ecosystems such as the distribution of commercial fish stocks and the increasing acidity is threatening species such as corals and shellfish, including those we breed for human consumption. The dramatic coral bleaching event now afflicting the Great Barrier Reef is only the most recent warning sign. Oceans produce at least 50% of oxygen, have absorbed more than 90% of combined extra heat between 1971 and 2010 and absorb roughly 30% of the world’s carbon emissions. The oceans play a key role in the climate system.

The IPPC has decided the strategy and timeline for its next reporting cycle, the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), and the special reports that will be prepared in the next few years. The Panel agreed to issue a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 ºC above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. It also agreed to prepare two other special reports: on climate change and oceans and the cryosphere; and on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. These will be produced as early as possible in the AR6 cycle.