Dear colleagues, Could you please sign-on as individual scientists to the following Oceanic Blue Carbon Voluntary Commitmentt for next month’s UN Ocean Conference?
Our goal here is to raise the profile of the role of the conservation of marine ecosystems and ocean life <http://www.grida.no/publications/172> in addressing the global climate challenge, and to support marine science funding. To sign-on just reply to me [email protected] or [email protected] and we will add you to the Commitment. Our deadline for sign-on is *Friday, 2 June 201*7. This effort is being led by Blue Climate Solutions, USA, and GRID-Arendal, Norway, and other groups signed-on include the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation, Cook Islands; Centro de Conservacion Cetacea, Chile; Cet Law Inc., USA; Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas, Argentina; Global Coral reef Alliance, USA; The Ocean Foundation, USA. Drs. Rashid Sumaila, Joe Roman and Tom Goreau currently lead our list of signed-on scientists. We would much appreciate your sign-on, it would greatly help to demonstrate a consensus of support for advancing this important topic <http://news.grida.no/save-a-whale-save-the-planet>. Best regards, Steven Steven Lutz, Blue Carbon Programme Leader, GRID-Adrenal, Norway Tel: +47 941 69 696 <+47%20941%2069%20696>, Skype: steven.lutz7 *Oceanic Blue Carbon Voluntary Commitment* Through this Oceanic Blue Carbon Voluntary Commitment we: HIGHLIGHT the oceans’ critical importance to the global carbon cycle and subsequently to climate change. Ocean ecosystems represent the largest active carbon sink on Earth; RECOGNIZE that certain coastal and ocean ecosystems can play an important role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. These ecosystems include mangrove and kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and saltwater marshlands. In the open ocean, marine vertebrates, such as whales, sharks and finfish, may also contribute to the ocean’s carbon function; DRAW ATTENTION TO the 28 counties that have included coastal ecosystems in climate change mitigation strategies in their Nationally Determined Contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the 36 counties that endorsed the ‘Resolution on Cetaceans and Ecosystem Services’ at the 2016 meeting of the International Whaling Commission, which recognizes that whale conservation may benefit the ocean and help fight climate change. EXPRESS CONCERN over the continued human impacts on marine life and habitats that lead to degradation of ocean ecosystem health. Reduced ocean ecosystem health has the potential to reduce ocean carbon function and exacerbate global climate change. The carbon impacts of ocean ecosystem degradation have not been included in climate projections; COMMIT to advance the following by 2020: - Raise awareness and improve international recognition of the value of the conservation of marine ecosystems and ocean life in addressing the global climate challenge. - Ask policy makers to include the carbon functions of coastal and oceanic marine ecosystems in strategies for conservation and climate change mitigation. - Support cross-disciplinary research to improve understanding and quantification of the role of marine ecosystems and ocean life in the global carbon cycle, including the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and storage in the oceans. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
