Ocean Acidification

Deep-ocean biodiversity plays a fundamental role in the global carbon cycle and Earth’s climate system. Despite this critical function, international biodiversity and climate change governance frameworks have rarely considered deep-sea life to any considerable extent historically. Recent developments create opportunities to close this gap, including through the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). We review the history and developments of these conventions to date regarding how they address the interface between climate, biodiversity, and the deep ocean, and use this historical overview to identify specific opportunities and mechanisms that can be used to sustain and protect life in the deep ocean more effectively and coherently going forward. Practical suggestions include incorporating climate and carbon considerations in the creation of marine protected areas and other area-based management tools under the BBNJ Agreement, establishing cross-cutting mechanisms that can align efforts under the UNFCCC, CBD, and the BBNJ Agreement, and, under the Paris Agreement, incorporating deep-ocean actions in nationally determined contributions, reconsidering what counts as mitigation or adaptation to encourage consideration of carbon conservation actions, and ensuring that climate change mitigation efforts do not harm deep-ocean biodiversity.

Lidström S., Gaebel C., Levin L. A., Snelgrove P. V. R., Amon D., Gjerde C. M., Hetherington E. D. & Metaxas A., 2027. Connecting international ocean, climate and biodiversity governance to protect deep-sea life. Marine Policy 195: 107292. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2026.107292. Article.