Why we need to protect the ocean

Source: Virgin.
By: Richard Branson.

It’s sad to think that a warmer world may be a world without Emperor penguins. These majestic animals need the sea ice for food and the ice is melting.

Antarctica is at the frontline of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. It’s the coldest, windiest, and most remote continent on earth, but its waters are home to a wealth of marine life. Maintaining the pristine state of the deep waters of Antarctica is vital not just for the wonderful wildlife that lives there, but also for the future of our planet.

There’s no time to waste – the reports about the state of the ocean are getting more and more worrying. The IPCC said in their latest report on the ocean and the cryosphere that human-caused climate change is undermining the ocean’s ability to sustain itself and it is facing potentially catastrophic consequences from climate change if we don’t protect it.

It’s time for business, civil society, government and science to come together and find new momentum. Our Ocean, an annual event started in 2014 by former Secretary of State John Kerry, is taking place in Norway this week, which will help forge new partnerships in the fight to protect the ocean and give leaders a chance to step up.