IPCC report: the ocean more threatened than ever

The latest IPCC report paints a grim picture of the state of the oceans — but there is still a glimmer of hope.

Transcript

00:00The future developments, if we continue to massively emit greenhouse gases, are very

00:21worrying.

00:22And they suggest a decrease in what is called primary productivity in the oceans and a

00:27decrease in the potential for fishing, in particular in tropical regions.

00:30Let's take, for example, the coral reefs in the tropics.

00:55Today, we see more and more frequent whitening phenomena on a large scale.

01:00In a warming climate, we expect a very severe degradation of 70 to 90% of tropical corals.

01:07If global warming reaches 1.5°C, it may happen between 2030 and 2050, and almost all

01:14of them for a warming of the order of 2°C.

01:17Mangroves, which are coastal vegetation, are also exposed.

01:22We can also talk, for example, about molds, which do not necessarily have the ability

01:28to move to adapt to a changing climate, and which are part of the elements of the marine

01:33environment, particularly exposed to the consequences of a warming climate.

01:58Today, we are in a situation where it is the glaciers, the Greenland and Antarctic glaciers,

02:26which have the greatest contribution to the rise of the sea level, but they add to the fact

02:31that the oceans, by warming up, swell, dilate, which also raises the sea level.

02:35In a few decades, it will have to be folded, it will have to be done with, and it will have to be built

02:53to adapt, to think about these changes, and to make sure that our societies are resilient,

02:59to protect the ecosystems.

03:01After that, everything will depend on what we do now in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

03:06If we strongly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions today, there are some of these changes

03:10that we can completely stabilize by 2050, for example the retreat of the Antarctic Bank.

03:15But there are other changes that, in any case, would continue, but slower.

03:20The more we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the more we save time for risks,

03:25the more we give ourselves room to manoeuvre to adapt to more gradual changes

03:30that would stabilize.