Centering Science
Conservation, Climate, and Security: Strengthening Governance in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Adam Smith
This study examines governance and security implications of recent decisions by Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia to expand the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR) and create a unified marine reserve within their exclusive economic zones. CMAR has existed since 2004 with the goals of resource management and protection of biodiversity within the waters encompassing member states’ marine protection areas. However, relatively weak normative structure and limited enforcement capacity have limited its effectiveness, as have recent increases in illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing, often from Asiatic distant-water fleets. Between 2021 and 2022, CMAR announced dramatic increases in its scope, expanding total protected area to over 200,000 square miles, broadening no-take zones, and framing its mission within the context of climate change. While consistent with CMAR’s historic goals, explicitly aligning itself with the global governance challenges of IUU fishing and climate change represents a notable shift. Since then, international support for CMAR has increased, specifically from the United States, which signed a memorandum of understanding with CMAR in 2022. The U.S. Department of State has committed to provide financial support to CMAR, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense have highlighted CMAR in the context of combatting IUU and transnational criminal organizations suggesting possible material support. This paper considers CMAR’s recent development and argues the decision to frame its mission within larger geopolitical tensions may allow CMAR to emerge as a more robust ocean regime and overcome previous capacity and governance limitations even within its current normative framework.
Combined Long-term Climate Change Indicator Datasets Show a Deteriorating Unmitigated Global Climate Emergency: Science Organizations Recognize and Recommend How to Respond to Dire Climate Emergency View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Peter Carter
The combined long-term datasets of multiple climate change indicators are trending at an increasing rate towards biosphere collapse. Just a few recent (important) tipping point papers have hinted that Northern Hemisphere warming is accelerating, driving disastrously destructive extreme events. Even so, governments continue to support and subsidize GHG-polluting industries. Warming of 1.5°C is unavoidable around 2030, but not acknowledged or prepared far. The UN COP process is not helping. Already committed equilibrium warming, calculated by atmospheric CO2 eq. and radiative forcing, is over 2°C — but not recognized. IPCC (2022) AR6 WG3 calls for immediate rapid global emissions decline, but this message has not been publicized or carried forward. This emissions decline requires immediate unconditional termination of all GHG-pollution subsidies and charging the full pollution costs to central polluters. Based on the IPCC AR6 Synthesis and 2022 Interacademy 'Health in the Climate Emergency' report (notably Appendix 4: Policy Instruments), intervention via formal climate emergency advisories, with policy recommendations, by national science and health organizations to their governments and the U.N. is required (the IPCC does not make value judgements nor make policy recommendations), together with the engagement of scientists in emergency mitigation education and policymaking at the regional level. This paper explains why and how we can make this happen.
