Climate Change

The ocean covers more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. It gives us half of the oxygen we breathe and supports the health of the entire planet and all its inhabitants.

Climate change is causing widespread damage to our oceans, communities and economies globally. It is the biggest threat of our time. We have the solutions but we need stronger political will to implement them.

Together, we must step up our fight against climate change to ensure healthy oceans and a thriving planet. The actions we take today will shape the world our children inherit.

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How does climate change impact our oceans?

Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) for energy use is the primary driver of global temperature increases and climate change.

Our oceans have already absorbed around 90% of the trapped heat arising from fossil fuel emissions.¹ Land and ocean heating is causing our climate to change dramatically. This is accelerating biodiversity loss and causing more extreme weather events; marine heatwaves, heavier rainfall, sea level rise, coral bleaching, ocean acidification and more intense tropical cyclones.

How climate change is harming our oceans

Marine heatwaves occur when sea surface temperatures exceed their usual levels for an extended duration. They can be lethal for temperature sensitive animals and plants and lead to the decline of coral reefs, kelp forests and seagrass meadows.²

2023 was the hottest year on record for our land and oceans. 14 consecutive months of record breaking ocean temperatures were observed in mid 2024.³

Global heating of our oceans is causing marine heatwaves to become more frequent, longer and dangerous. Prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean can have severe repercussions on marine ecosystems and the fisheries sector.

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Coral reefs take up only 1% of the sea floor but are home to over a quarter of all marine life. Coral animals are the building blocks of reef ecosystems and vital to life on earth.

When corals experience prolonged heat stress from marine heatwaves they bleach, turning a ghostly white as they expel the colourful algae living in their tissues.

Even a rise of just 1 degree Celsius over a month can trigger coral bleaching. Bleached corals can starve and are more susceptible to disease. If ocean temperatures remain high, the coral organism cannot recover and begins to die.

Record-breaking marine heatwaves are causing mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs globally. Since 2016 our Reef has suffered five mass bleaching events.

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Mangroves are critical to marine ecosystems and our climate. They are nurseries for marine life like fish and turtles, providing shelter and food among the mangrove roots. They are critical carbon sinks, absorbing five times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than tropical forests by area.⁴

The effects of climate change - sea level rise, changing ocean currents, more intense storms, ocean heating, unpredictable rainfall and increased carbon dioxide - have wiped out mangrove forests in recent decades.

Around 10,000 hectares of mangrove forest died in the Gulf of Carpentaria in 2016 (ABC, 2016) after an un-seasonally low Monsoon rainfall, followed by extreme heating from sustained high ocean temperatures.

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Kelp forests are the ‘biological engine’ of our oceans. Along with mangroves they play a crucial role in carbon removal, sequestering an estimated 4.91 megatons of carbon from the atmosphere annually. This highlights their potential as blue carbon systems for climate change mitigation.⁵

The economic value of kelp forests is estimated to be around 500 billion per year, primarily due to fisheries production and nitrogen removal.⁶

Australia is home to incredible giant kelp forests stretching over 8000 kilometres around the southern half of Australia. Sadly, great swathes of kelp forests in our temperate south west have disappeared.

In Tasmania, as much as 95% of the kelp forest canopy has vanished due to elevated ocean temperatures from warmer waters being transported southwards through the East Australian current.⁷ Sea urchins have become a major threat to kelp forests as climate change is changing their behaviour, forcing them to migrate and actively seek out kelp as a food source.

Our iconic whales, sea lions, marine turtles and dugongs are at risk from climate change, as are our fish stocks.

Dugongs are dependent on shallow coastal waters and are vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events, which destroy their main food source of seagrass. This can lead to health declines, breeding failure and cause them to migrate to other areas.

Image credit: Ali Hammond

Save our oceans from climate change

By tackling climate change at policy level we are shaping the future of our ocean wildlife and critical habitats.

We need the best minds and leaders to direct a rapid transition from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy and net zero emissions. ‘Net zero’ refers to a nation’s ability to remove the same volume of polluting emissions from the atmosphere as it produces.

At AMCS we are advocating for climate change policies that meet net zero emissions by 2035. The Australian government has committed to a 43% reduction by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Our oceans don’t have that long to wait for action.

  • The government must stop approving new coal, oil and gas projects and end fossil fuel subsidies.
  • We need a fair transition for all workers in the fossil fuel industry into renewable energy jobs and related industries. 
  • Nature and people need conservation outcomes that build resilience in our oceans and reduce the threats posed by climate change and other stressors.

Fight For Our Reef

We are building pressure in Queensland and nationally to protect the Great Barrier Reef

Blue Carbon

Find out how coastal ecosystems already have the potential to fight climate change

Marine Parks

Marine Parks offer wildlife a refuge from the effects of climate change

Sustainable Fisheries

We can reduce our own impact by choosing seafood wisely and supporting responsible fisheries

Header image: Angelina Pilarinos

Sources:

  1. climatecouncil.org.au/resources/code-blue-our-oceans-in-crisis
  2. media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1760/explainer-what-is-a-marine-heatwave
  3. noaa.gov/news/may-2024-was-earths-warmest-may-on-record
  4. frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.781876/full#B19
  5.  Eger, A.M., Marzinelli, E.M., Beas-Luna, R. et al. The value of ecosystem services in global marine kelp forests. Nat Commun 14, 1894 (2023)
  6. nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37385-0
  7. thefifthestate.com.au/environment/worlds-kelp-forests-valued-at-half-a-trillion-dollars-but-tasmania-has-lost-nearly-all-of-them

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