According to the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), oceans are becoming more acidic at a rate 100 times faster than any change in acidity seen in the last 20 million years. This rapid change is not allowing enough time for evolutionary adaptation within biological systems. A major study released on Monday in collaboration with the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) at Bella Convention Centre in Copenhagen, where climate talks are taking place, highlights the impact of oceans absorbing a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from human activities. This absorption by the oceans helps to prevent atmospheric CO2 levels from rising significantly higher and mitigates the effects of global climate change. The absorption of atmospheric CO2 has caused the oceans to become more acidic, with predictions suggesting a 150% increase in acidity by 2050. Ocean acidification is a long-lasting and irreversible process that can only be mitigated by urgent global reductions in CO2 emissions. Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the convention, stressed the importance of addressing this issue in the global climate change debate, highlighting the alarming ecological scenarios and adverse impacts on marine biodiversity described in a CBD study based on analysis of over 300 scientific literatures. The study reveals that as ocean acidification continues to rise, around 70 percent of cold water corals, which serve as important habitats and food sources for commercial fish species, will be at risk of being exposed to corrosive waters by the year 2100.