Written evidence submitted by Defra (OAC0011)

Contributions from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Executive Summary.

• Over the last 5 years the Government funded UK Ocean Acidification research programme (UKOA) helped to increase our understanding of ocean acidification processes and reduce uncertainties in predicting ocean acidification impacts.  It provided an extremely successful collaborative science partnership across the UK academic community and the strong links to policy ensured a well-focussed science-to-policy perspective that delivered significant impacts both nationally and internationally. 
• Links to other Government funded research relevant to ocean acidification are included here and provide the wider context of multi- stressor impacts and the interactions of ocean acidification.  It shows how the evidence presented on climate change impacts in the UK’s marine area and globally is being used to significantly increase the options for protection and sustainable management of the oceans.
• The associated monitoring activities and policy interventions describe the efforts being put in place to increase the resilience of our marine environment, and hence its ability to adapt to climate change pressures, by promoting more sustainable fisheries management and increasing marine protected areas to ensure sustainable use of our seas.
• The 2015 Paris Agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provides the main international policy response to ocean acidification, by addressing its cause: the emissions of CO2 due to human activities. The UK is delivering the Agreement through its domestic climate framework set out by the Climate Change Act 2008 and is looking ahead to its emissions reduction plan which will set out how it will reduce emissions through the 2020s and so form an important signal to the markets, businesses and investors.
• This submission is aimed at addressing some of the questions posed by the inquiry, particularly around our level of understanding of the processes and impacts of ocean acidification and the policies in place. It is understood that a complementary submission to the inquiry will be made by NERC.  Such a submission provides additional scientific details to those given here and in particular details on the role of increased CO2 emissions, other drivers and gaps in our understanding.

What research has been supported to improve the level of understanding of the processes and impacts of ocean acidification?

Government support for research - The UK Ocean Acidification research programme (UKOA)

1. An extensive range of research projects were supported by the UK Ocean Acidification research programme (UKOA) between 2010 and 2015.  Additional synthesis and knowledge exchange activities are still ongoing. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the then Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC; now the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, BEIS) worked in close partnership on this jointly-funded programme, with support of £12.4m  [Defra £3.7m DECC £1m NERC £7.7m] .  

2. The UKOA programme involved over 120 scientists in 26 research laboratories across the UK. Close collaborations with European and other international research activities were also established. Such links included those with the EU-supported EPOCA (European Project on Ocean Acidification) and MedSeA (Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a Changing Climate) programmes; the German Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification (BIOACID) programme; and the US Ocean Acidification Program.

3. UKOA has provided high-quality independent advice to Government and other UK stakeholders.  It also developed a highly successful UK network for ocean acidification science, and greatly strengthened the links between government and Research Councils.  Furthermore, UKOA helped inform, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and jointly established, with US colleagues, the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON). Additional information on UKOA’s scientific activities and their significant impacts is available on the programme’s website[1], now in archive status.

Placing Ocean Acidification in a wider Fisheries Context (PLACID)

4. Defra funded the ‘Placing Ocean Acidification in a wider Fisheries Context’ (PLACID) project, at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), 2013-2016.  PLACID studies included experiments to investigate the effects of ocean acidification on commercially-important shellfish species (lobsters, scallops, cockles and whelks); additional measurements of pH and other carbonate chemistry parameters in UK marine waters; ‘scaling-up’ from laboratory experiments to populations using sophisticated mathematical models; and preliminary economic analysis to determine possible consequences for commercial fisheries and aquaculture.

Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry programme (SSB)

5. Ship-based surveys of seawater chemistry relevant to ocean acidification in UK waters were also carried out between 2014 and 2016 under the NERC-Defra Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry (SSB) programme, further extending the fieldwork of UKOA and PLACID. A comprehensive baseline of carbonate chemistry conditions for UK shelf seas (particularly the Celtic Sea and North Sea) has therefore been established.

Other relevant Government-funded research

6. Additional Defra-funded research projects relevant to ocean acidification have recently included the Maritime Industries-Environmental Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (MINERVA); Impacts from Climate Change and Ocean Acidification on Fisheries and Marine Biodiversity (IFMA); and Chemical Hazards in the Marine Environment (CHIME).  These projects have provided the wider context for analysis of multi-stressor impacts and the interactions of ocean acidification with other environmental pollutants.  Particularly, they have demonstrated that low pH can increase metal toxicity in marine sediments, with adverse consequences for marine invertebrates.

7. BEIS and Defra co-fund the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme, which includes modelling research relevant to ocean acidification science. For example, the Earth system model UKESM1 will enable more accurate simulations of ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange and transport as part of the global carbon cycle. The development of UKESM1 also involves eight NERC-funded research groups, including those at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML).

8. The close linkage between ocean acidification and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has implications for national and international energy policy and climate change. The Met Office supports BEIS by providing scientific information on carbon budgets, to help inform ongoing international negotiations under the UNFCCC as well as the setting of UK carbon budgets according to the UK Climate Change Act.

UK synthesis activities

9. In 2016, Defra (together with NERC) provided additional resources to compile the synthesis report “Carbon dioxide and ocean acidification observations in UK waters, with focus on 2010-2015”[2]. This synthesis provided an update of the ocean acidification component of the Defra-led Charting Progress 2 report (2010). 

10. The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP, supported by a wide range of government departments and other bodies) has considered ocean acidification and its impacts in its Report Cards[3].  A further overview on ocean acidification will be published in early 2017.

International syntheses

11. UK research and experts provided a key input to the ocean acidification components of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [4], published 2013/14. UK experts have also assisted in scoping an IPCC Special Report on Climate, Oceans and the Cryosphere, and are expected to contribute broadly to the drafting of the report, to be published in 2019, and in reviewing ocean acidification literature and its wider context, for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, to be published in 2021/22.
12. The UK is strongly involved in the activities of the IPCC, through BEIS. Thus support is currently provided for IPCC Working Group III (on mitigation), as well as assistance with the participation of UK experts, enabling the UK scientific community to be one of the leading contributors to IPCC’s work.

13. Three UK authors (with support from UKOA) led the preparation of the 2014 report “An Updated Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity” for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

What is done to monitor for ocean acidification?

Background

14. The monitoring of ocean acidification is not straightforward.  Although pH (hydrogen ion concentration) is the parameter of greatest concern, it is rarely measured directly. Instead pH is usually calculated from measurements of other components of the closely-linked ocean ‘carbonate chemistry system’, notably carbon dioxide concentration (pCO2), dissolved inorganic carbonate (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA).  Furthermore, the interpretation of pH variability requires additional information on other physico-chemical parameters (such as nutrients, temperature, salinity and pressure) and biological data (information on photosynthesis and respiration), whilst assessment of impacts requires information on other potential stressors (e.g. oxygen, pollutants)[5].

15. For those reasons, the most valuable datasets for ocean acidification monitoring are those where high-quality measurements are consistently taken at the same location, with full seasonal coverage, over many years, together with the collection of information on a wide range of other marine environmental parameters and processes.

16. Ocean acidification parameters are included in Annex III of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with measurement of "pH, pCO2 profiles or equivalent information used to measure ocean acidification" included within the "indicative list of characteristics, pressures and impacts". As such, water column acidification was included as part of the UK sub-programme under article 11 monitoring reporting and will form a part of the national reporting for the update Article 8 assessment in 2016/17.

UK monitoring effort

17. Recent UK datasets have been collected from: 1) repeated observations from fixed-point observatories (‘time series’, at L4 off Plymouth, Stonehaven near Aberdeen, and at four Cefas SmartBouy sites); 2) repeated surveys of gridded stations using the UK fisheries research vessels RV Cefas Endeavour and RV Scotia, also other ‘vessels of opportunity’; and 3) ad hoc research cruises on NERC vessels under the auspices of the UKOA or SSB research programmes.  The analysis of the collected water samples has, until recently, been carried out at the national Carbonate Chemistry Analytical Facility, established by UKOA at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

18. Together these datasets show strong temporal and spatial variability (vertically and horizontally) in pH and other components of the carbonate chemistry system, much greater than was expected at the start of the UKOA programme.  This variability is greatest in coastal waters, of particular importance to commercial shellfisheries and aquaculture. The long-term decline in pH is superimposed on this variability, arising from both local and regional causes.  Such aspects are discussed in greater detail in the NERC submission. Although the UKOA, PLACID & SSB programmes have now concluded, ongoing monitoring at a reduced level is continuing at L4 maintained by Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

19. The above text focusses on ocean acidification monitoring in UK marine waters.  There is, however, ongoing relevant work in two (of the 14) British Overseas Territories, Bermuda and the British Antarctic Territory.  The Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series Study (BATS)[6] has been supported by the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Science since the mid- 1980s, and has provided one of the most comprehensive data sets showing the long-term decline in open-ocean pH (Bates et al. 2014).  The Rothera Time Series (RaTS) in Antarctica is supported by NERC and began in 1997.  Details should be provided in the NERC submission.

20. It is recognised that it would be desirable to have operational ocean acidification monitoring in other BTOs, particularly those with associated Marine Protected Areas, e.g. the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and the Pitcairn Islands. 

What policy interventions are needed to tackle ocean acidification?

International policy context

21. This section identifies some of the main ongoing policy initiatives most relevant to UK interests; it is not comprehensive. A review of the wider international policy framework is provided in Chapter 2 of CBD Technical series 75[7]

The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-east Atlantic (OSPAR)

22. The UK is a Contracting Party to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, more usually known as OSPAR.  That body’s Strategy for 2010–2020 (“the North-East Atlantic Environment Strategy”) recognizes the potentially significant consequences of climate change and ocean acidification in the OSPAR maritime area, and in response established the joint OSPAR-ICES Steering Group on Ocean Acidification (SGOA).  The UK made a major contribution to the work of that group.

23. Recommendations of SGOA fed into the OSPAR Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme (JAMP).  With other OSPAR bodies, including the Hazardous Substances and Eutrophication Committee (HASEC), JAMP developed Guidelines for Monitoring Chemical Aspects of Ocean Acidification (2014). In 2016 an updated OSPAR Coordinated Environmental Monitoring Programme (OSPAR 2016-1) was adopted that includes monitoring and assessment related to ocean acidification. 

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14

24. UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015 by the UN General Assembly. SDG 14 is to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.  In addition to targets that address marine pollution, overfishing and the protection of marine and coastal ecosystems, Target 14.3 is “Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels”.

G7 initiative on ocean observations

25. In May 2016, Ministers from G7 countries agreed the following actions to help implement UN Sustainable Development Goal 14:

• Support the development of an initiative for enhanced global sea and ocean observation required to monitor inter alia climate change and marine biodiversity;
• Support an enhanced system of ocean assessment through the UN Regular Process to develop a consensus view on the state of the oceans;
• Promote open science and the improvement of the global data sharing infrastructure to ensure the discoverability, accessibility, and interoperability of a wide range of ocean and marine data;
• Strengthen collaborative approaches to encourage the development of regional observing capabilities and knowledge networks in a coordinated and coherent way, including supporting the capacity building of developing countries; and
• Promote increased G7 political‐cooperation by identifying additional actions needed to enhance future routine ocean observations. 

26. More specific recommendations included that the G7 should work together to develop new biogeochemical sensors to measure ocean variables; the BioArgo float network should be expanded; greater use should be made of data from commercial vessels; and that greater biological and biogeochemical detail should be obtained from augmented fixed-point observatories.

27. Although there is no specific mention of ocean acidification in the above proposed G7 actions and headline recommendations, that issue is mentioned many times in the details of supporting text. Arrangements for implementation of the above actions will be given further attention by G7 nations, with the UK expected to continue to take a strong leadership role.

Paris Agreement on Climate Change

28. The 2015 Paris Agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) arguably provides the main international policy response to ocean acidification, by addressing its cause: the emissions of CO2 due to human activities.  Although the main goal of the Agreement is stated in terms of constraining future global temperature increases, that can only be achieved by rapid reductions in emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.  The Agreement also includes the commitment to achieve “a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century”, i.e. net zero emissions. 
29. 125 countries – including the US, China, India, the EU and 21 of its Member States – including France and Germany have now ratified the Paris Agreement, representing 80% of global emissions.  The UK became a party to the Agreement in December 2016.  The UK is already playing its part in delivering the Agreement through its domestic climate framework set out by the Climate Change Act 2008. In July, the UK Government set the fifth carbon budget in line with the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendations, equivalent to a 57% reduction on 1990 levels. The UK is looking ahead to its emissions reduction plan which will set out how it will reduce emissions through the 2020s and so form an important signal to the markets, businesses and investors.

What are the main impacts of ocean acidification on commercially-important marine species

30. The focus here is on socio-economic impacts and implications for marine conservation. Broader biological and ecological effects of ocean acidification will be covered by the NERC submission. 

31. The UKOA and the Defra-funded PLACID programmes have carried out laboratory experiments on the effects of ocean acidification (and its interactions with temperature) on a wide range of marine species, including those of direct commercial importance. Results from these experiments have complemented the research carried out by the wider, international scientific community; they have yielded the following valuable insights:

• Molluscs, echinoderms and corals are generally more sensitive than crustaceans and fin-fish. However different life-stages (larvae, juveniles, adults etc.) can exhibit different vulnerability, and in some cases similar species respond in dramatically different ways[8].

• Future impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on shellfish fisheries (and indirect impacts on finfish fisheries) are still highly uncertain given that responses of species in laboratory experiments have not been consistent. Differences in food availability under the experimental conditions seem to be an important factor influencing the scale of observed effects[9].

• The effect of projected temperature increases (particularly under ‘business as usual scenarios’) would seem to have a much greater impact than ocean acidification on commercially-important species of shellfish.

• The consensus view from studies that have attempted to ‘scale up’ from experimental results to consequences for fisheries in Europe or the United Kingdom is that ocean acidification could have significant negative consequences in the longer term[10],[11],[12]. However, many uncertainties remain.

• A study on the potential impacts of ocean acidification and warming on future fisheries catches, revenue and employment in the UK fishing industry under different CO2 emission scenarios showed that species were likely to be more affected by ocean acidification and warming combined, than by ocean warming alone.

• That study found that projected standing stock biomasses could decrease between 10 - 60%; losses in revenue could decrease between 1–21%; and losses in relevant employment (fisheries and associated industries) could be 3–20% during 2020–2050[13].

• A Europe-wide analysis11 suggested that annual economic losses by 2100 could amount to US$ 97.1 million, US$ 1 million and US$ 12.7 million in the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man respectively under a worst-case scenario, mostly due to impacts on scallop fisheries. Within the UK, Wales and Northern Ireland seemed the most susceptible to damage to mussel culture, whereas southwest England is most susceptible in terms of the potential for lost oyster production.

Implications for species of conservation importance

32. The coldwater coral Lophelia pertusa forms biodiverse and functionally important deep-water reef habitats in the North Atlantic, including Scottish waters and the Celtic Sea[14]. UKOA experimental studies and other analyses indicate that they may be particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification.  For example, by 2060, around 85% of known deep-sea coldwater coral reefs in the UK could be exposed to waters that are corrosive to them. Seven marine protected areas (MPA) have been designated for the protection of coldwater corals to date[15].

33. Horse mussel beds (Modiolus modiolus) currently appear as a designated feature in ten marine protected areas. Based on future climate change projections, there is a risk that this feature will no longer be represented in the UK marine protected area network by 2100 due to rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification[16].

34. The potential importance of ocean acidification for Marine Protected Areas within British Overseas Territories, covering both tropical and polar conditions, has already been mentioned above (2.2.5).  The risk to warm water coral reefs, and interactions with bleaching, give particular cause for concern.  Such topics were not covered by the UKOA or PLACID programmes.

What areas of Government policy-making are currently held back by insufficient knowledge/evidence on ocean acidification, and the risks this poses?

Adequacy of current knowledge

35. It is, of course, beneficial to have as much scientific knowledge as possible on environmental threats such as ocean acidification, and additional information on many aspects would be highly desirable. Many scientific uncertainties remain – and these include imperfect understanding of underlying biological responses, as well as   indirect, food-web consequences. 

36. Since the impact of ocean acidification on food-webs may be more pronounced in warm tropical waters than previously thought. BEIS is supporting NOC to undertake an internationalisation bid to specifically engage with SE Asian countries. It is proposed that UK expertise should be used to help them manage the impacts of ocean acidification in their local environments.

37. There is also a paucity of observational data for carbonate chemistry conditions in UK waters, as discussed in greater detail above (Section 2).  Additional in situ data would be particularly valuable for the seafloor, and in the immediate coastal zone of the UK, i.e. for areas of particularly high biodiversity, and where most commercial shellfish are caught or cultured. It currently remains unclear as to the environmental conditions actually experienced on a day-to-day basis by many species, and therefore the appropriateness of experimental treatments, and the level of adaptive capacity that might exist in natural populations in the wild.

38. It is expected to be given further attention when all the results from the PLACID programme have been published.  Furthermore, the need for additional strategic evidence is also likely to be reviewed in the context of the ongoing strategy refresh of the Marine Science Coordination Committee (MSCC).

What is the adequacy of policy interventions?

39. It is recognised above that there is scope for improved national monitoring of ocean acidification, in the context of other changes in the marine environment - that may be linked to, or separate from, climate change.  The G7 initiative should help address that need.

40. The most effective response is to address the cause of ocean acidification, by reducing CO2 emissions. Actions are underway in that regard; such as the Paris Agreement (section 29 above).  Success will, however, require global implementation.

41. Additional policy actions to mitigate or ameliorate the adverse impacts of ocean acidification at the local level are also possible.  These include the reduction of other stressors (e.g. by metal pollution, excess nutrients or overfishing), water treatment (as now used in the US oyster culture industry), and selective breeding/re-introduction of strains of species that are resistant to low pH.  The reduction of other stressors is considered highly desirable for other reasons, and provides the main rationale for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas.

January 2017