Hello, and welcome to The Independent's weekly climate news digest.
This week, scientists revealed that the world's oceans have absorbed so much heat over the past decade that it's equivalent to the energy from 1.7 billion atomic bomb explosions. "If we divide this by the number of seconds in 10 years, it's equivalent to about five atomic explosions' worth of energy every single second," said Alex Sen Gupta, associate professor at the University of New South Wales.
The figures were released on the sidelines of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, where leaders from more than 100 countries are meeting this week to agree on urgent steps to protect marine life and rein in industrial exploitation of the seas. One of the key goals is to get the UN's High Seas Treaty across the finish line. So far, 49 countries have ratified the pact, just 11 short of the 60 needed for it to come into force. The UK announced this week that it would introduce legislation by the end of the year to join the treaty. Meanwhile,France's president Emmanuel Macron told the summit the treaty could take effect as early as 2026 and renewed his call for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining, which campaigners say would cause irreversible damage to fragile ecosystems.
Scientists and small island nations at the summit warned that the window to protect ocean life is closing fast.
Speaking before the start of the summit, at a separate conference in Monaco, Prince William said that the "clock is ticking", with bold action needed "to protect and restore our planet". He added: "2030 is fast approaching, and only 17 per cent of land and just 3 per cent of the ocean has been fully protected. If we are to reach our goal, we urgently need to take bold action to protect and restore our planet".
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