Pollution

Like it or not, around the world many species of animals are seen as tradeable commodities – for things like food, fur, fashion or medicine. Of course we know that historically hunting animals for commercial gain has often been really bad news for the animals concerned. Just stop and think about some of the most recognisable big land mammals – things like tigers, elephants and rhinos – and it’s pretty evident what trade can do to even well-known beasts, pushing many of them to the very brink of extinction.

No endangered fin whales will be hunted in Iceland this year.

This is great news. Word today from colleagues in Iceland, and now reports in both Icelandic and English-language media confirm that the planned hunt for fin whales will not happen this summer. The man behind that whaling is claiming that he’s stopping because of ‘hindrances’ in exporting the meat. That’s great news for whales, and everyone who has been opposing this needless, senseless hunt.

The New Year’s storms have brought a lurid, unmissable reminder to UK beaches, with thousands of bright pink detergent bottles being churned up by the sea. As waves of highly-visible plastic trash hit British beaches, it’s a timely reminder of a much bigger problem: we are turning our oceans into plastic soup. It’s been estimated recently that about EIGHT MILLION TONNES of plastic ends up in the ocean each year.

We know climate change is the biggest threat facing our planet, which is why it is Greenpeace’s priority campaign across the world. Today’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s highlights the enormous impacts and consequences climate change is having on our oceans. This must act as a wake-up call for everyone who depends on, or cares about our oceans and the vast array of life within them.

These are the most important messages from report - and they mean for our oceans.