On Biodiversity Day at COP27 (16 November), (UNEP) Goodwill Ambassador, and singer and song-writer spoke about the importance of coral reefs and why more needs to be done to protect the vibrant ecosystem that sustains life under water.
Every one of the world¡¯s coral reefs could bleach by the end of the century, unless there are drastic reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, says UNEP. Today, climate change, which is warming the ocean and making marine heatwaves hotter, longer and more frequent, is the biggest threat to reefs.
Question: What is your message to COP27?
Ellie Goulding: It¡¯s to the policymakers and world leaders to step up and be brave. The politics of all of this just needs to be braver. You know, the things that were promised at COP26 (2021) should be fulfilled and should be put into action. All we hear is just empty promises all the time. It's just really exhausting. We honestly just want real action.
Look what happened when there was a pandemic. The world came together and galvanized, and we tackled it. So the same thing should be for the climate and the nature crisis. It is an emergency. So action needs to be taken now and it should be at the forefront of every single world leaders or policymakers. It should be the top of their priority list.
Question: What is your message to the people who are watching?
Ellie Goulding: To be honest, I think the public knows. Most of the public now, especially young people, are desperate for change and they're frustrated. I've spoken to a lot of the young activists here at the Youth Pavilion [at COP27], and they're doing all the right things. They're here, they're showing up. And I think just be conscious of everything.
We need new sources and make sure you're not reading fake news. And then, you can take small things into actions in your own life, small changes [and] get involved with your local community, see if there is group that you can get involved with, see if there are ways that small, tiny habits that you can change that make a huge difference in the long run collectively. To be honest, people - they all have the will. It's a political will that we don't have still.
Excerpts from the Hope for Coral Reefs event at COP27:
On the impact of climate change on coral reefs:
Ellie Goulding: The existence of these coral reefs that have been around for half billion years is in your hands. And as the IPCC [] tells us, that [with] 1.5¡ã°ä of warming, 70 to 90 percent of all reefs will be lost. And at two degrees, we lose 99 percent. So what is decided here makes a difference.
There is no separation between us and natural systems. If they fail and we don't protect them, then we fail. We need this wakeup call urgently because we're continuing to get it wrong.
On the need to protect coral reefs:
Ellie Goulding: Nobody wants to be the first to destroy an entire ecosystem. But we all want to be part of the group that saves it. Imagine how that would feel. In order to unlock that opportunity, we need to invest in nature. It's time to fund these precious ecosystems.
We know there's a huge gap in global investment in coral reefs is insultingly small. Less than 0.01 percent of climate finance from development banks between 2010 and 2015 went to coral reefs, which is nothing.
I would ask the global community of leaders to acknowledge that coral reefs are one of our greatest collective assets and to get seriously ambitious and competitive about funding, restoration and protection.
Read what other prominent Voices from COP27 are saying about the themes, negations and the way forward.
