Valuing the Ocean

The report argues that the ocean is a victim of global market failure, where the true value of its ecosystems and services is ignored. It identifies six primary threats—ocean acidification, warming, hypoxia, sea level rise, pollution, and overexploitation of resources—and emphasizes that these stressors often interact synergistically. The authors quantify the 'cost of inaction' by comparing low and high emission scenarios, estimating that avoidable damages could exceed US$ 1 trillion per year by 2100. The document advocates for a shift from traditional cost-benefit analysis to a precautionary, insurance-based risk model and calls for integrated, cross-scale ocean governance to build ecosystem resilience.

• Ocean acidification is a direct result of CO2 emissions, with mean surface ocean acidity increasing by 30 percent since the industrial revolution. If current emission rates continue, acidity could increase by 150-200 percent by 2100, a rate of change ten times faster than any event in the last 65 million years.
• Ocean warming is increasing the intensity of tropical cyclones. One study found the percentage of the strongest storms (category 4 and 5) rose from less than 20 percent in 1970–1974 to approximately 35 percent in 2000–2004 across all major ocean basins.
• Hypoxia, or 'dead zones', are expanding due to eutrophication from agricultural runoff and global warming. Over 500 coastal systems are currently affected, and this number is expected to double to over 1,000 as reporting increases from Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
• Global mean sea level has risen by approximately 25cm since 1850, with the rate accelerating from 1.8mm per year over the last five decades to 3.1mm per year in the 1990s. Projections for 2100 range from 0.2 to 2 metres, with 0.8 metres considered a plausible estimate.
• The global marine capture fisheries are severely overexploited, with 85 percent of stocks estimated to be fully exploited, overexploited, depleted, or recovering. Rebuilding these stocks over 10 years could generate a resource rent gain of US$ 66 billion per year, with a net present value of between US$ 660 and US$ 1,430 billion.
• More than 40 percent of the marine environment is impacted by a combination of stressors. These can be global (warming, acidification, deoxygenation) or local/regional (overfishing, pollution, coastal hypoxia), and their interactions can be synergistic, meaning the combined effect is greater than the sum of individual parts.
• The economic cost of inaction regarding ocean services is significant. By 2100, the difference in damages between a low-emissions scenario (RCP2.6) and a high-emissions scenario (RCP6) is estimated at US$ 1,367 billion per year, or 0.25 percent of global GDP.
• The Pacific Ocean is a critical region, generating 60 percent of world fishing revenues. It faces severe threats, including a projected 30 percent additional loss of catch potential due to the combined effects of acidification, warming, and deoxygenation.

APA

Noone, K., Sumaila, R., & Díaz, R. J. (n.d.). Valuing the Ocean. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-ValuingTheOcean-ExtendedSummaryReport-2012.pdf

Chicago

Noone, Kevin, Rashid Sumaila, and Robert J. Díaz. Valuing the Ocean. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-ValuingTheOcean-ExtendedSummaryReport-2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Noone |first1=Kevin |last2=Sumaila |first2=Rashid |last3=Díaz |first3=Robert J. |title=Valuing the Ocean |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-ValuingTheOcean-ExtendedSummaryReport-2012.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{noonendvaluing, author = {Noone, Kevin and Sumaila, Rashid and Díaz, Robert J.}, title = {{Valuing the Ocean}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-ValuingTheOcean-ExtendedSummaryReport-2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }