kelp forests

Kelp forests, critical biodiversity hotspots, are declining rapidly due to ocean warming, pollution, and urchin overpopulation. Tribal volunteers from the Haida Nation in British Columbia are removing purple sea urchins to protect kelp, while scientists highlight kelp's underappreciated potential to sequester carbon, comparable to tropical rainforests.

The ocean has absorbed much of climate change's impact, but marine heatwaves have tripled since the early 1990s, causing coral bleaching, kelp forest loss, and ecosystem collapse risks. Karina Von Schuckmann, an IGCC author and Mercator Ocean International adviser, highlights these dangers.