UN General Assembly
1991

I must go further and refer to a major -reason why the warming of the ocean is of concern, not only to low-lying islands but to the entire world. It is that the ocean waters and many of its living creatures, such as corals, are known to be a huge storehouse of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. We know that warming causes those gases to be released from the oceans into the atmosphere, but we are not yet able to project the process with scientific certainty. Given the fact that the Pacific Ocean alone comprises almost one third of the entire surface of the Earth, the risks associated with man's triggering such release through unbridled activities on land are too staggering to ignore. The existence of that and other related oceanic mechanisms is not a matter of speculation. They are a scientific reality and for that reason the interests of mankind dictate that the development of our comprehensive understanding of them be given high priority in the allocation of resources committed by the framework convention.