Sweden in Transition #15 - Jean-Baptiste Jouffray on Ocean in the Anthropocene

Jean-Baptiste introduces us to this Ocean, that represents two-thirds of the earth surface but is still vastly unknown. It is a reservoir for future discoveries with great potential on marine genetic resources and new medicines (which is particularly relevant in times of COVID), but also a life support system as it regulates climate, absorbs carbon and provides us with the air we breathe. But human pressure is enormous (fishing, shipping, offshore industries, development of renewable energy, plastics), leading to multiple impacts such as ocean acidification, bleaching of coral reefs, and ocean warming with the risk of reaching tipping points with vicious feedback loops (when the ice melts, less heat is reflected and more heat is absorbed by the ocean, which in turn increases the ocean temperature ultimately leading to more ice melting). Impacts such as sea-level rise can also have geopolitical consequences. We talked about the Blue Economy and its acceleration and how collaboration can help address the challenges ahead, the important role of finance and of course the need for international governance. We mentioned how we (western consumers) should change our habits and eat less but better-selected fish. Jean-Baptiste also gave us his point of view on the opportunity to leverage the COVID crisis to accelerate transformation for sustainability. We closed on the overview effect and the value of talking about the ocean in the singular rather than plural. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.