Giving Compass' Take:

• Here are recommendations from the IPCC report on the Ocean and Cyrosphere, that examine how to curb biodiversity loss. 

• What role can donors play in contributing to solutions that address the ocean and cyrosphere?

• Here are four key points from the IPCC report.

All people on Earth depend on the ocean and cryosphere — the frozen regions of our planet. Together they provide vital services to humanity including food, fresh water and energy. But they also perform critical services, including the uptake and redistribution of carbon dioxide and heat.

Yet, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere says human-induced climate change is harming the health and function of the ocean and cryosphere in a number of ways. Glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking. Global sea level is rising at more than twice the rate of the 20th century.

The ocean is warming, becoming more acidic and losing oxygen. Fifty percent of coastal wetlands have been lost over the last 100 years. Species are shifting, biodiversity is declining and ecosystems are losing their integrity and function. The strain on the ocean and cryosphere has direct and indirect effects, threatening human health, food security, fresh water and livelihoods.

A relatively straightforward solution to curbing biodiversity loss, especially in the face of climate change, is expanding the global network of large-scale protected areas on land and ocean.

But protected areas are not enough. The report also highlights an even more challenging, yet crucial, component of the solution: Rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions must be achieved across institutional boundaries. The global nature of the issue demands a globally coordinated effort toward ambitious cuts in emissions.

The United Nations Climate Action Summit, which convened over the weekend of Sept. 22, intended to do just this.

Widespread climate strikes, led largely by young people, are also a sign of a broader social response to climate change.

But is this enough to stop the degradation of our ocean, cryosphere and larger Earth system?

Read the full article about climate report on oceans by Cassandra Brooks at GreenBiz.