About us
OUR STORY.
HOW IT STARTED
A CONVERSATION BEGINS.
Like many divers, Divers for Climate started with a love of the ocean. We played, worked, and explored beneath the waves. We introduced thousands of people to the underwater world, one giant stride at a time, and shared its magic and stories across cultures and generations. But as the oceans warmed, we started seeing changes we couldn't ignore and began receiving questions that we were not always sure how to answer - "Will the reefs be okay? What will this look like in 20 years? Is is all dying?"
It felt overwhelming and like the decisions that mattered most were out of our hands.
So in late 2020, a time when many of us had been out of the water way too long, we came together online - a small group of divers and dive professionals sharing knowledge, worries, and hopes about a climate changed ocean. We talked about what climate change meant for diving and for all the places and species we loved to see. We talked about how to answer tricky questions from people on holiday who were diving for the first time - how does one balance both beauty and grief, communicate complex science and motivate action all while making sure no-one falls off the boat? And from those conversations, Divers for Climate was born.
Today, we're a community-led non-profit with thousands of divers across Australia and beyond, united in calling for stronger action on climate change. Together we've built a movement that connects frontline ocean experiences to climate policy and solutions, from grassroots campaigns to industry partnerships and political advocacy.
Our story is still being written, but the heart of it will always be grounded in community — divers, coming together to make sure that what we see below the surface shapes the decisions made above.
Vision
A climate-resilient dive community in a thriving ocean.
Mission
Transform Australia’s dive community into a unified, credible and influential constituency that mobilises public support, strengthens sector leadership, and shapes national climate and ocean policy.
Theory of change
If the dive community is connected, equipped and empowered to engage on climate issues, and can prepare and respond to local climate impacts, then it can become a coordinated and influential constituency for climate action.
Our values in practice
Justice
Climate impacts are not shared equally. We centre the communities carrying the heaviest load.
Collaboration
We build with the dive community, industry, science and First Nations partners, not on their behalf.
Diversity
The ocean is diverse and we believe that the work to protect it must be too.
Integrity
We say what we see, and we report honestly on what we achieve. Everything we do is based on evidence.
Respect
For the ocean, for each other, and for the knowledge held by those who live and work by the sea.
