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The Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest, deepest, and most biologically diverse in the world, spanning roughly 46 percent of the planet’s ocean surface. It encompasses close to 30,000 islands, borders multiple countries across Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, and is home to 50 percent of the world’s coral reefs. The Pacific’s marine and coastal ecosystems support the livelihoods, food systems, and cultural identities of millions of people, especially those of the Pacific Islands.
Even so, climate change and environmental degradation continue to pose a significant threat to the Pacific Ocean and its states. Rising sea levels and coastal erosion, coral bleaching, ocean warming, and resource exploitation are driving rapid ecological change and challenging the region’s viability.
Pressing Threats to Climate and Biodiversity in the Pacific
Sea Level Rise and Coastal Erosion
Sea level rises pose an existential threat to low-lying Pacific Island nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji , who continue to bare some of the worst burdens caused by climate change. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) notes that sea level rise in the southwest Pacific Ocean is nearly twice the global rate since 1993.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo notes, “Already we are seeing more coastal flooding, shoreline retreat, saltwater contamination of freshwater supplies and displacement of communities.”
An analysis conducted by NASA estimates 6 inches of sea level rise within the next 30 years for some of these low-lying states.
Coral Bleaching and Ocean Warming
The Pacific Ocean is experiencing unprecedented levels of coral bleaching due to record-high ocean temperatures and prolonged marine heatwaves, described as being pushed into ‘uncharted territory’ for reefs worldwide.
The Great Barrier Reef has been particularly severely impacted by coral bleaching, and has experienced one of its worst ever recorded bleaching events in 2024. Almost half of the reef experienced record levels of heat stress, with scientists reporting a ‘graveyard of dead corals’ within sections of the reef. This is the Great Barrier Reefs’ fifth mass bleaching event.
Overfishing and Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing
IUU fishing remains a significant threat to the Pacific Ocean’s biodiversity and the economies of Pacific Island Nations.
A 2021 report by MRAG Asia Pacific estimated that IUU fishing cost the region an estimated USD 333 million annually between 2017 and 2019–largely attributed to by underreporting by licensed vessels. This heavily impacts Pacific Island states, where for some, fisheries represent 70 to 80% of national revenue.
While Pacific Island states have taken steps towards conservation and more sustainable methods, there is much to be done to slow this persisting threat.
Plastic Pollution and Deep Sea Mining
Plastic waste and seabed exploitation also escalate environmental pressures within the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific is home to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which spans approximately 1.6 million square kilometers, threatening marine life through ingestion, entanglement, and toxic chemical exposure and impacting food security across the region.
Meanwhile, increasing interest in deep sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Hawaii and Mexico is raising concerns for Pacific Island states. Deep sea mining is largely understudied, but all the same, the harms may be immediate and irreversible.
Green Party Responses and Plans of Action
Green Parties across the Asia-Pacific and Oceania are rising to the challenge to respond to these persisting threats largely caused by climate change.
In 2023, the Asia-Pacific Greens, in partnership with Greens Japan, Green Party of Korea, and the Australian Greens, released a statement calling for the ‘suspension of plans to discharge contaminated treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean’ in order to protect the health of the people of Japan, the Pacific Region and the environment and biodiversity of the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Island Greens: The Greens of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a leader for the protection and revitalisation of the Pacific Ocean and its ecosystems. The Green Party seeks to establish a Green Party Minister for the Oceans and pass the Healthy Oceans Act, with aim to protect at least 30 percent of Aotearoa’s ocean by 2030, work with local communities to create solutions that work for people and nature, and support a $60 million fund to transition to more sustainable fishing practices.
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, joined by other Pacific Parliamentarians, has also launched the Pacific Parliamentarians’ Alliance on Deep Sea Mining, committed to ‘protect the ocean from mining by large corporations backed by powerful governments’.
The Australian Greens have launched action plans to conserve the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Southern Reef off the coast of Tasmania, aiming to boost funding $4.17 billion and $155 million respectively to protect the diversity of the ecosystems in these regions.
The Australian Greens are also committed to initiatives targeted towards marine invasive species, protection of shark populations in Australian waters, banning seismic blasting and expanding marine sanctuaries that protect biodiversity, support healthy oceans, and build resilience against climate change.
In 2023, the Green Party of Canada warmly welcomed adoption of a new United Nations treaty on ocean biodiversity which will provide mechanisms to regulate and protect the high seas.
Leader of the Green Party of Canada Elizabeth May notes,
‘Humanity must take energetic action to protect, understand and manage sustainably the deep ocean’.
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