Animal Friends Insurance renews commitment to save the whale and save the world.

 Animal Friends Pet Insurance is excited to announce their renewed partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) through further investment into the next stage of their Climate Giants Project.

WDC is the leading global charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of whales and dolphins and works internationally through campaigns, lobbying, advising governments, conservation projects, field research, and rescue.

The Climate Giants Project of which Animal Friends is a founding partner, incorporates a series of groundbreaking research initiatives that delve into how whales and dolphins benefit the world's climate, biodiversity, and economies. Animal Friends’ support will help WDC kickstart the next phase of this incredible project: ‘AnimOcean’ - which will harness the power of computers to calculate the global impact of whales, and other marine mammals, in tackling the climate crisis.

Animating the Ocean through groundbreaking computer modelling

For the first time ever, marine mammals will be integrated into an oceanographic computer model to study how their daily behaviours affect the health of the ocean.

Calculating the amount of carbon captured and locked away by all marine mammals during their lifecycle, including their role as a fallen carcass on the ocean floor, is instrumental to understanding the importance of whale conservation in rebuilding a healthy and fully functioning ocean.[1]

With a single blue whale potentially storing on its body, the same amount of carbon as 825 trees,‌ and the ocean itself capturing 25% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions,[2] it’s clear why this type of advanced, innovative scientific research is essential in terms of providing the evidence needed to tackle climate change by enhancing protection of marine life.

So why is carbon important and what’s the big deal about the ocean?

The amount of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere is now 50% higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution began in 1750.[3]  What does this mean exactly? An increase in CO2 levels means an increase in Earth’s temperature, which subsequently raises the ocean temperature resulting in damaging effects such as ocean dead zones, deoxygenation, and ocean acidification which immediately affects whales and dolphins.[4]

Through human activity, we put more CO2 into the atmosphere than natural processes can remove, which means the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases every year. Our ocean, and the animals, plants and other life that call it home, play an integral role in balancing our climate by absorbing and storing CO2.[5]

So how will AnimOcean help show why whales need a greater level of protection?

AnimOcean will plug current gaps in research by demonstrating the ecological role of whales, dolphins, and all marine mammals to the ecosystem in terms of their carbon ‘services’.

Inputting data through the AnimOcean global ocean computer model, will demonstrate the importance of marine mammals as nature-based solutions to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.

Ed Goodall, Head of Intergovernmental Engagement, from WDC explains:

“The computer model created will be central to the delivery of our global policy ambitions, allowing marine mammals to be considered properly within the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change reports and recommendations.

It will also be available as a tool for conservation and marine protected area management, mapping how and where marine mammals help keep the ocean healthy, which will be revolutionary for setting conservation goals, guiding management programmes, and aiding national and international policy making.”

As it stands, marine ecosystems receive less than 1% of all climate finance.[6] By demonstrating the importance of marine mammals, the push for their protection as an integral part in the survival of our planet can gain even more traction. The climate‌ ‌crisis‌ ‌cannot be overcome without‌ ‌protecting‌ ‌the‌ ‌ocean, ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌ocean cannot be protected ‌without‌ ‌saving‌ ‌whales and dolphins.[7]‌ ‌ ‌

Richard Mills, Chief Executive Officer at Animal Friends Insurance expressed: 

“We’re deeply passionate about supporting animal welfare, and WDC’s dedication to finding innovative solutions that enable wildlife to survive and thrive strongly aligns with our vision to create a better life for every animal. We believe that the WDC AnimOcean project will make a huge and positive impact in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises.[8]

We’ve been inspired by WDC’s commitment to challenge and change international policy and revolutionise ocean research, and we’re extremely proud to continue to support their Climate Giants Project in its next phase. There is still so much to learn about magnificent ocean wildlife but, with the help of this incredible organisation, there is hope for the future.

We share WDC’s dedication to bringing about positive change for animals and are thrilled that our partnership will facilitate groundbreaking action through AnimOcean.”

WDC Director, Ed Fox, adds:

“Fifty years ago, the world came together to save the whale from being hunted to extinction. Little did we know then just how important whales, dolphins and other marine life would be to preventing climate and biodiversity breakdown. Understanding and quantifying the role they play is vital to unlocking the necessary action and funds we need to protect the ocean and help populations of whales and dolphins to recover. 

“We are hugely grateful to Animal Friends. Their continued support, vision and leadership as a founding Climate Giants partner is helping us take a massive leap forward in our ambition to save the whale and save the world.”

[1] the-climate-giant-project.pdf (whales.org)

[2] deloitte-uk-wdc-report-2023.pdf

[3] Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide | NOAA Climate.gov

[4] Climate Change - Whale and Dolphin Conservation (whales.org)

[5] Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide | NOAA Climate.gov

[6] deloitte-uk-wdc-report-2023.pdf

[7] the-climate-giant-project.pdf (whales.org)

[8] The biodiversity crisis in numbers - a visual guide | Cop15 | The Guardian