UN warns of 'ocean emergency' as activist groups demand action

Five-day UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal focuses on ocean health.

Antonio Guterres, the head of the United Nations, said that the world is facing a "ocean emergency." He said this as thousands of activists, scientists, and leaders gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, for the UN Ocean Conference to call for stronger measures to protect the sea.

Guterres told policymakers, experts, and activists at Monday's opening plenary in Lisbon, "We have taken the ocean for granted." He went on to talk about how climate change and pollution have hurt the seas.

"I'm asking everyone at the UN Ocean Conference to fix these problems and do what we can to help the ocean. "We have to do something to turn things around," he said.

The five-day Ocean Conference brings together people from more than 120 countries to talk about how to improve the health of the oceans, which cover 70% of the Earth's surface and give food and jobs to billions of people.

About 700,000 to 1 million species live in the oceans, and they make more than half of the world's oxygen. But they have had to deal with the effects of climate change, such as global warming, pollution, and the acidification of the oceans.

On Monday, members of the Ocean Rebellion group held a protest on a beach in Lisbon. They held signs that said, "As the sea dies, we die."

The activist group said, "The world's largest ecosystem is still not protected and is dying as we watch."

The conference, which is being held in both Portugal and Kenya, will sign a declaration that, while not binding on those who sign it, could help protect the oceans and their resources and make it easier to do so, according to the UN. Friday is when the declaration will be signed.

Guterres asked governments and businesses at the event to give more money to help make a sustainable economic model for managing the oceans.

Scientists say that reducing greenhouse gases by a lot is needed to make the oceans healthy again.

Activists also say that climate change is making the oceans warmer and more acidic than ever before. Even though CO2 emissions have gone up over the last 60 years, seawater has become more acidic because it has taken in about a quarter of the pollution. This threatens aquatic food chains and the ocean's ability to take in carbon.

Charlotte de Fontaubert, the global lead for the blue economy at the World Bank, said, "We are just starting to understand how bad climate change will be for ocean health."

The United Nations Environment Programme says that pollution is getting worse by the minute, with a garbage truck's worth of plastic being thrown away every minute (UNEP).

During the five-day event, there will also be a lot of talk about fisheries around the world.

"At least one-third of wild fish stocks are overfished, and less than 10 percent of the ocean is protected," Kathryn Matthews, chief scientist for the US-based non-profit Oceana, told the AFP news agency.