Giving Compass' Take:

• In honor of the UN Foundation’s #EyeOnClimate campaign, below is an interview with Dr. Emma Camp, a coral biologist studying the effects of climate change on the coral reef. 

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report clearly states the harmful impact of ocean warming on the ecosystem. What can donors do to get involved? How can funders support research like Camp's? 

• Read more about reversing the damage of climate change on coral reefs. 

Coral reefs are some of our most iconic and important ecosystems, housing a quarter of all the ocean’s marine life. But their survival is under threat.

According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report, climate change is making oceans warmer and more acidic — and these changes are having a big impact on coral reefs. Nearly all coral reefs are projected to be lost with 2°C warming by the end of the century.

Thankfully, there are scientists like Dr. Emma Camp working to stop this from happening. Dr. Camp is a coral biologist and marine bio-geochemist at the University of Technology Sydney. She is also a National Geographic Explorer and a United Nations Young Leader who studies naturally strong corals, recently termed “super corals,” and how they can make reefs more resilient. She talked about her research at the SDG Media Zone during the 2019 UN General Assembly, where climate change was a major focus for world leaders.

As part of the UN Foundation’s #EyeOnClimate campaign to spotlight solutions for nature, from nature, I interviewed Dr. Camp to better understand the threats that coral reefs face from climate change, why we should all care, and how the research she’s leading can help save them.

From your perspective, what changes have you witnessed on coral reefs and what changes concern you the most?

Emma Camp: As a scientist, what I’ve actually witnessed and seen with my own eyes is that we are seeing more severe and frequent coral bleaching events. That’s really concerning for me.

Read the full article about research saving coral reefs by Chandler Green at United Nations Foundation.