Our Scans · (LF.14) Life Below Water · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

• [New] Under the highest emissions scenario, sea ice coverage could fall by 20%, devastating species that rely on it - such as krill, an important prey for whales and penguins - and amplifying ocean warming worldwide. Mirage News
• [New] Antarctica is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, which could destroy its ecosystems and put other parts of the planet at risk by driving sea level rise and damaging food chains. Mirage News
• [New] Ocean acidification and hypoxia pose major risks to BC's seafood industries, with projected losses in the hundreds of millions by 2050. Canadian OA CoP
• [New] Arctic summer sea ice is a critical foundation of the global ocean and climate system, and its rapid loss is creating a series of severe risks to nature and people across the planet. Ocean Visions
• [New] Arctic summer sea ice is critical to global climate regulation and regional climate stability, but it is projected to disappear by 2050. Ocean Visions
• [New] Arctic sea ice, which serves an important role in global climate stability through its high albedo, is a system at high risk. Ocean Visions
• [New] Arctic sea ice, which facilitates global climate stability through its high albedo, is a system at high risk. Ocean Visions
• [New] The loss of summer sea ice estimated to occur in the coming decades will worsen impacts to ecosystems, Arctic people, and global climate. Ocean Visions
• [New] Sea-level rise does not stop at political borders, and so countries in the Global North - including Germany - are also increasingly threatened. Robert Bosch Stiftung
• [New] The number of people exposed to flood risk will rise by 25% on China's Pearl River delta by 2035, even if carbon emissions start to be cut: that region, which includes Hong Kong, is home to 86 million people. The Guardian
• [New] In South Africa, flooding in low-lying river basin areas such as the Limpopo region occurs frequently due to intense rainfall and climate variability, disrupting livelihoods and increasing malaria transmission risk. The Conversation
• [New] Miami, Florida, faces chronic sea-level rise that threatens low-lying neighborhoods, pushing residents inland to cities like Jacksonville and Atlanta. Saint Augustines University
• [New] By integrating maintenance, supply, and operational data, the Marine Corps expects to increase aircraft availability and enhance combat effectiveness. CDO Magazine
• [New] Once adopted, the 2026 Strategy and Action Plan will supersede IMO's 2021 marine plastics strategy and 2025 action plan, bringing them together in a single, streamlined approach while reaffirming the Organization's ambition to achieve zero plastic waste discharges to sea from ships by 2030. Marine Insight
• [New] The Philippines is obligated under international human rights law to respect, protect, and fulfill everyone's economic, social, and cultural rights, and to protect them from reasonably foreseeable climate change risks, including sea-level rise and other climate change impacts. Human Rights Watch
• [New] A proposed drone wall, designed to detect and destroy rogue drones from the Baltic states to the Black Sea, is expected to be operational by 2027. Caliber.az
• [New] Artists all over the world are celebrating the entry into force of the Global Ocean Treaty, also marking the beginning of a crucial four-year countdown to protect 30% of the world's ocean by 2030 and stop deep sea mining before it begins. Greenpeace International
• [New] By 2050, offshore wind power capacity in the North Sea is set to increase more than tenfold. Climate Tech Venture Review
• [New] Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have again underscored the vulnerability along the Suez Canal/Red Sea corridor, the principal east-west trade artery. gmfus
• [New] A shift in how electric ferries could operate in the future was recently demonstrated, after the completion of the world's longest electric sea journey by a passenger vessel. SupplyChainBrain
• [New] Dumping tonnes of drugs into the ocean could affect wildlife in multiple ways. RNZ
• [New] Fears are growing in the Colorado River basin about the prospect of painful water cuts, prolonged court battles and other dire impacts after negotiators from seven states missed a second key deadline Saturday to reach a conservation deal. Colorado Public Radio

Last updated: 02 March 2026