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Ocean carbon sink has weakened by about six per cent due to climate change, UN report warns

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The ocean carbon sink is weakening: climate change has already cut the ocean’s capacity to absorb carbon by about six per cent, a new UN report warned on 28 October 2026, ahead of the COP31 climate conference in November, according to UN News.

ocean carbon: The Tuvalu archipelago in the west-central Pacific Ocean
The Tuvalu archipelago in the west-central Pacific Ocean Photo: © UNDP/TCAP via UN News (editorial use with credit).

Why the ocean carbon sink is weakening

The ocean absorbs around 30 per cent of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions and 90 per cent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, the report says. Rising temperatures and changes in ocean chemistry, circulation and ecosystems are reducing its ability to absorb and store carbon, leaving more CO2 in the air. “For a long time the ocean has been doing us an enormous climate service, but that service is under increasing pressure,” lead author Sara Traerup told UN News, warning that the process “can definitely accelerate”. The report was produced by UNEP and the UN climate secretariat, UNFCCC, which co-organises COP31. “What we don’t know, we cannot manage and protect,” Traerup said.

Key Facts

  • Loss of ocean carbon capacity: about 6%
  • Ocean absorbs: ~30% of human CO2, 90% of excess heat
  • Blue carbon ecosystems: ~407 million tonnes CO2 a year
  • Report by: UNEP and UNFCCC
  • Next talks: COP31, November 2026

“We shouldn't treat ocean-based technologies as a shortcut.”

— Sara Traerup, lead author

Blue carbon and ocean technologies

A major gap is the lack of reliable ocean monitoring data, especially in the Southern and Indian Oceans, the Arctic and many coastal regions, so the report calls for stronger “ocean carbon intelligence”. UNEP looked at three groups of technologies. Ocean monitoring systems are the most mature and most urgently needed. Blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes already store around 407 million tonnes of CO2 a year and also protect coasts. Marine carbon dioxide removal remains highly uncertain and needs more research and regulation. “We shouldn’t treat ocean-based technologies as a shortcut,” Traerup said. Restoring blue carbon ecosystems could add significantly more storage, and they also support biodiversity and livelihoods.

Small islands and COP31 climate change talks

Small Island Developing States contribute less than one per cent of global emissions but are on the front line of ocean and climate impacts, the report notes, and it calls for more finance, technology transfer and training for them. It cites Seychelles, which used a 2015 debt-for-nature swap to set up a trust fund for marine conservation, and Pacific projects in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu that mapped seagrass and mangroves and trained more than 100 people in blue carbon assessment. The report also stresses using local and Indigenous knowledge. Communities have been coping with climate change for many years, Traerup said, pointing to their experience in protecting coastlines through natural habitats and managing fisheries sustainably. The World Meteorological Organization separately said on 27 October that greenhouse gas levels reached record highs in 2025.

Why It Matters: India has a long coastline and large mangrove areas, so a weaker ocean sink and blue carbon policy both matter for its climate plans.

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Source: UN News: Ocean's ability to absorb carbon is weakening · UNEP · UNFCCC

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