Commissioners Miguel Arias Cañete, Karmenu Vella and Carlos Moedas welcome the UN report on oceans and climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has today issued its Special Report on the impact of climate change on oceans and the cryosphere – the frozen parts of our planet. The report provides policy-makers across the globe with a strong scientific basis for their efforts to modernise the economy, tackle climate change and address its impacts on the oceans, promote sustainable development and eradicate poverty. The Commission welcomes the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete for Climate Action and Energy, Commissioner Karmenu Vella for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and Commissioner Carlos Moedas for Research, Science and Innovation consider it a wake-up call for the global community to tackle climate change and its impacts on oceans as soon as possible, and said: “The conclusions of this new report are clear: human-induced global warming is drastically changing our oceans. They are heating up, becoming more acidic, contain less oxygen. Sea levels are rising much faster than anticipated. Oceans can only remain healthy if we limit global warming to 1.5°C. The EU therefore continues to urge for an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement. In November 2018, the EU has already presented its strategy to become a zero carbon economy by 2050 and this report is another urgent call for action, showing how important it is to proceed without hesitation on that path. The EU is also already taking action to address the link between climate change and the oceans through its Ocean Governance strategy.”