Cop26: can our seas save us?

The Science Weekly podcast is in Glasgow, where we are bringing listeners daily episodes from Cop26. Each morning you will hear from one of the Guardian's award-winning environment team. Today, the Guardian's biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, talks to one of the world's leading marine ecologists, Dr Enric Sala, about the role our oceans can play in preventing climate catastrophe

Last week, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica committed to aligning their marine-protected areas to form a fishing-free corridor covering more than 500,000 sq km (200,000 sq miles). They were the latest in a long list of countries who have realised that our oceans are crucial in the fight to keep global heating within 1.5 degrees.

The UK government also announced on Friday, Ocean Action Day, that over 100 countries had signed up to a pledge to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. Why? Because oceans are estimated to absorb at least a quarter of the world's CO2 emissions, something known as blue carbon'.