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Why the

Ocean matters

We live on planet ocean

Viewed from space, we clearly live on “Planet Ocean”. Seas and oceans cover 70% of the surface of our world.

The ocean shapes our weather

Ocean currents help move heat around the world, making the climate less extreme and our planet more habitable.

The ocean slows climate change

By absorbing a large part of our CO2 emissions and most of the excess heat generated by emissions, and by storing carbon from marine life, the ocean provides vital climate mitigation.

The ocean is home to a myriad of life

The world’s seas and oceans contain millions of different kinds of life, many of them unknown to science.

The ocean is the lungs of the world

Life in our seas and oceans produces half of the oxygen we breathe.

The ocean heals us

Our seas and oceans provide life-saving drugs, and ocean life could be the key to tackling the diseases of the future.

The ocean feeds us

More than 3.5 billion people depend on our seas and oceans for their primary source of food.

The ocean makes us whole

It is where we came from and where we always return, to rest, swim, dive, sail, and to nurture our physical and mental health.

Spotlight On

Fresh legal study strengthens case for closing EU market to deep-sea minerals

A new legal analysis commissioned by NGOs Seas At Risk and ClientEarth warns that minerals from deep-sea mining could reach the EU market within the coming years unless action is taken. The study finds that the EU has the legal authority to prevent these minerals from being placed on its market to avoid destroying the ecosystem of one of the least explored and understood places on earth.