10 Years Left to Save the Ocean
A Decade for Ocean Activism
2020 welcomes the start of the new decade and an opportunity for us to reflect on our 30 year legacy of high-impact environmental campaigning, and look forward to further establish ourselves as one of the most authentic and trusted voices in the marine conservation. The year marks the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration which provides us with a powerful external frame to continue to develop and deliver our campaigns.
The ocean is in terrible danger and we have just a few short years left to rescue it. Accelerating climate change means warmer, more acidic water, leading to starvation and extinctions. Plastic is choking turtles, whales and birds.
For those of us who love to swim and surf, pollution is an ever present threat. No one wants to go back to the bad old days of filthy bathing water after Brexit. We want to keep up with Europe, and do even better on ending plastic pollution and tackling climate change.
So what’s the plan?
The climate, environmental and ocean emergency are increasingly well understood by the public, and require an urgent and ambitious response. This year, we begin a new decade devoted to the ocean, intensifying our efforts to mobilise volunteers, collect citizen science, influence legislation and diversify our campaign efforts.
We have set out clear campaign goals and a road map of activities, events, moments and citizen science to help deliver these.
By 2030, we will inspire ocean activists everywhere to call for:
- End single-use plastic pollution on UK beaches
- End sewage discharges into UK bathing waters.
- Achieve Net-Zero carbon emissions.
- 30% of global ocean and all UK MPA’s highly protected.
Become an Ocean Activist
We’ll be getting out onto our beaches, riversides and mountaintops again this year, in bigger numbers than ever before. We’ll clean up and record exactly what packaging is ending up on beaches, so we can point the finger at the the corporate culprits.
We’ll keep the pressure up on our elected politicians, online, in the media and in person. We need them to make sure the UK’s ocean and water protections don’t get worse after Brexit. And they must follow through on their promises on climate change and plastics.
In schools and communities across the country, thousands more of you will take matters into your own hands, banishing plastic and embracing ocean-friendly alternatives with Plastic Free Schools and Plastic Free Communities.
2020 will be massive for this community of ocean lovers, trouble makers, straight talkers and committed campaigners. We want to harness your power. Your passion, your ideas, your energy, your voice. Think what that means when hundreds of thousands of us come together!
Together we are #GenerationSea – the last generation that can save to ocean.
Make sure you’re part of it. Get all the updates by joining and helping us grow the #GenerationSea movement.