The International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification brings together governments and organizations from across the globe dedicated to taking urgent action to protect coastal communities and livelihoods.Join Us
of the Earth is covered by oceans.
billion people rely on the ocean for their primary protein source.
trillion dollars in economic activity is supported by the ocean each year.
of the Earth's oxygen is generated by our oceans.
Ocean and climate are intrinsically linked -The ocean is a major driver and amplifier to our climate system and, at the same time, the ocean is impacted by changes to our climate.
Communities are already experiencing negative impacts of climate change on marine species and ecosystems around the world. From fishing to tourism to aquaculture, climate change is impacting marine jobs, livelihoods, cultural traditions and food security.
Working together, we can increase global attention on actions that address the causes of ocean acidification and changing ocean conditions, as well as reduce future impacts to our coastal communities, economies and the health of our oceans.
increase in ocean acidity due to increased carbon emissions.
Our global ocean absorbs one-third of the carbon dioxide generated by human activities. This has already caused ocean acidity to increase by 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution. Projections for the end of this century indicate that our oceans’ surface waters could be 150 times more acidified than before industrialization.
Increasing ocean acidification combined other climate-ocean impacts threaten marine species and ecosystems that are essential for sustaining jobs, supporting coastal economies, practicing cultural traditions and feeding billions of people around the world. These impacts will worsen in the future without urgent action.
Together, OA Alliance members are calling for emissions reductions and ocean adaptation actions under international climate frameworks like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) 13 and 14.
OA Alliance members are leading discussions across climate and ocean platforms, ensuring that climate and ocean commitments, policies and communications accurately reflect their interdependence. National, subnational and tribal leaders are integrating ocean acidification and other ocean-climate impacts as part of their climate change commitments, policies and communications.
Government-led initiatives like the Ocean Acidification Alliance are vital to helping governments respond to the findings within the IPCC Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate and to implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14.
Messages from Member Leaders
“Support and cooperation are needed by the alliance. This can be achieved in the form of information sharing of recent science, importance of best practices to mitigate and adapt and a call for collaboration.”
Governor Inslee, State of Washington
Governor Brown, State of Oregon
“For us the process of acidification is a high concern, taking in consideration the economic, environmental and social consequences for a country that has more than 4000 kilometres of coastlines, home of many species and ecosystems that need to be protected. The ocean is also home of key economic activities. Chile is one of the 10 main ocean economies of the world, employing more than 100.000 people in direct jobs in the fisheries sector both industrial and artisanal.”
To join the Alliance or learn more about the Global Call to Action, please express your interest via email to Jessie Turner, Project Coordinator to the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification. Ms. Turner will share a copy of the Call to Action for your review and consideration to join the Alliance.
Jessie Turner, Project Coordinator
The Alliance invites individual members, both government, and affiliate, at all stages of learning about and responding to ocean acidification.