November 22, 2023
Welcome to the November 2023 edition of Ocean & Climate News. This issue focuses on the Global Ocean Forum’s continued efforts in preparation for the UNFCCC COP28 in Dubai (30 November – 12 December 2023), providing updated information on the status of the Virtual Ocean Pavilion, the Report on Assessing Progress on Ocean and Climate Action: 2022-2023 and the other ways the Global Ocean Forum team will be participating in COP28. This issue will also provide a status update on the Cross-sectoral Project and will close with other relevant ocean and climate news.
Global Ocean Forum at UNFCCC COP28
Virtual Ocean Pavilion
As the upcoming COP28 approaches, planning for the third Virtual Ocean Pavilion (VOP) is ramping up. Lead co-organizers Global Ocean Forum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory are excited to announce the confirmed involvement of the International Partnership on MPAs, Biodiversity and Climate Change, University of Delaware Gerard J. Mangone Climate Change Science and Policy Hub, Coastal Zone Canada Association, Nausicaa, Global Fund for Coral Reefs, Global Mangrove Alliance, Climate Champions Team, Ocean & Climate Platform, High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, Communications Inc, Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre, and World Maritime University, among others pending confirmation in this year’s VOP live event and exhibit line up.
There will be 8 live events streamed on the VOP across four days (22 November, 30 November, 8 December, and 12 December). A brief overview of the events is as follows:
22 November: At the opening of the VOP, a live event focusing on what’s to come at the VOP as well as at COP28 more generally, with a focus on ocean-related events. The Global Ocean Forum will also launch the Report on Assessing Progress on Ocean and Climate Action: 2022-2023.
30 November: At the opening of COP28, a high-level event focusing on integrating ocean and climate action and an event on shifting goals to achieve the ocean we want.
8 December: During the Youth, Children, Education and Skills thematic day, three live events focusing on connecting generations for ocean and climate action, the Mangrove and Coral Reef Breakthroughs and investigating and protecting blue carbon in MPAs, respectively.
12 December: During the COP28 final negotiations, a live event focusing on managing and protecting ocean spaces for climate, biodiversity and people by 2030 and a high-level closing event focusing on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) and climate change.
In addition to the live events, there will be 12 exhibit booths available throughout the duration of the VOP for registrants to access and engage with in the VOP exhibition hall. Exhibits will focus on topics such as innovations that bridge scales, disciplines and technologies, coastal city adaptation to sea level rise, and how MPAs function as nature-based solutions to climate change, among others.
Register for free to attend the COP28 VOP! Upon registering, enter the Event Lobby to find detailed information about this year’s VOP, including the development of an exclusive list of ocean-related events at the VOP (click here to add your COP28 ocean-related event to the list if you have not already), an overview of the VOP features and a live event agenda with a convenient “Add to Calendar” feature to ensure registrants won’t miss out on events of interest.
Report on Assessing Progress on Ocean and Climate Action: 2022-2023
Continuing the legacy of the ROCA initiative, which has concluded, the Global Ocean Forum has organized 67 co-authors from 46 organizations in the ocean community to contribute to the Report on Assessing Progress on Ocean and Climate Action: 2022-2023. Now available for downloading on our website, the report was officially launched at the opening of the Virtual Ocean Pavilion on November 22, 2023. The report is an ambitious effort which covers progress in areas such as UN fora, global / regional developments, scientific findings, the role of national determined contributions, mitigation, adaptation, low carbon blue economy, population displacement, financing, capacity development, climate change and BBNJ. Importantly, the report also strives to identify future needs and drive further progress.
UNFCCC COP28 Side Event
Together with the Government of Chile and Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute, the Global Ocean Forum will be hosting a side event at COP28 titled Investing in Ocean Nature-based Solutions to Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change. The event will take place on 10 December, 2023 at 18:30-20:00 GST in SE Room 1 of Expo City. This side event provides an opportunity for national and international partnership initiatives to share their experiences in investing on collaborative mitigation and adaptation. The event will showcase how national/international partnerships: 1) promote carbon sequestration through MPAs/other ocean nature-based solutions; 2) promote adaptation through coral reef restoration & carbon stock conservation from developed/developing country experiences; 3) foster investments on SDG priorities.
UNFCCC COP28 Exhibit Booth
From 1-6 December, 2023, the Global Ocean Forum along with co-organizers Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean Society (POGO) and the University of Plymouth will showcase an exhibit at COP28 titled Why the Ocean Matters in Climate Negotiations: Sharing the latest developments in climate challenges, impacts & options towards sustainable ocean development connecting science, industry, policy & society on ocean action in the UNFCCC processes and strengthening NDCs.
Cross Sectoral Project
Project Inception Workshop and First Project Steering Committee Meeting
On October 3, 2023, the Global Ocean Forum organized the Project Inception Workshop for the Cross-sectoral Project: Building and Enhancing Sectoral and Cross-sectoral Capacity to Support Sustainable Resource Use and Biodiversity Conservation in Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. With 33 representatives of 16 partner organizations in attendance, the workshop focused on the following objectives:
1) Developing the same understanding of the approved project design and the roles and responsibilities of each co-executing partner, the project’s support structure, and other implementation arrangements;
2) Providing a detailed overview of the project’s stakeholder engagement plan during project implementation, knowledge management and communications, gender analysis and action plan, and monitoring and evaluation;
3) Discussing and finalizing annual work plans and project timeline on the basis of the project’s strategic results framework; and
4) Raising awareness and support for the project and its activities.
The first meeting of the Project Steering Committee was held on October 26, 2023, and all project materials, project timeline, and year 1 work plan and budget were unanimously approved. The project will run for a five-year duration from June 2023 to June 2028, and the yearly work plans and budget will be reviewed by the Project Steering Committee annually.
Planned year 1 activities include conducting a Needs Assessment in our two pilot regions, the Southeast Pacific and the Pacific Islands, in collaboration with seven co-executing partners and twenty-three co-financing partners. During year 1, project activities in the Southeast Pacific will be led by Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN) and supported by the Comisión Permanente del Pacífico Sur (CPPS); project activities in the Pacific Islands will be led by University of the South Pacific (USP) and supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC). The Global Ocean Forum (GOF), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), and GRID-Arendal will lead the Knowledge Management and Communication strategy, Stakeholder Engagement Plan, and Gender Analysis and Action Plan globally.
Other Ocean & Climate News
Gearing Up for the UNFCCC COP28
Letter from the President-Designate of COP28/CMP18/CMA5
H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the COP28 President-Designate and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, recently shared a letter outlining plans for COP28. Previously, the Incoming Presidency outlined four paradigm shifts to guide future action, including:
- Fast-tracking the just, equitable and orderly energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030;
- Transforming climate finance by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance;
- putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action; and,
- Mobilizing for an inclusive COP.
The recent letter confirms the commitment to these paradigm shifts and outlines progress and momentum being seen thus far working towards these priority actions, referencing the eventful Amazon Summit, Nairobi Declaration, G20 meeting in New Delhi and the UNGA. While the progress is celebrated, the COP28 President-Designate calls for increased ambition and accelerated implementation towards operationalizing the four paradigm shifts and achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
New UN Ocean Decade Actions
The Ocean Decade continues to expand the global portfolio of science-based solutions contributing to its vision of ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. Ahead of COP28, the Ocean Decade has endorsed a set of 21 new Decade Actions focused on the advancement & application of ocean knowledge for a healthy ocean on the path to 2030 and beyond. For the full list of endorsed Ocean Decade Actions, see here.
With this latest batch of Decade Actions, critical ocean science issues are tackled including global ocean observing systems and accurate prediction of ocean ecosystems, data generation and open access, knowledge and innovation for multi-hazard early warning systems, marine and coastal pollution, and ocean literacy.
Launch of the Coral Reef Breakthrough
Following the momentum of the Mangrove Breakthrough launched in 2022 for COP27, the International Coral Reef Initiative has launched the Coral Reef Breakthrough in partnership with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the High Level Climate Champions ahead of COP28.
The Coral Reef Breakthrough aims to secure the future of at least 125,000 km2 of shallow-water tropical coral reefs with investments of at least US$12 billion to support the resilience of more than half a billion people globally by 2030.
Supporters of the Coral Reef Breakthrough will be announced at the upcoming COP28.
High Seas Treaty Symposium
In June 2023, delegates at the United Nations adopted a legally binding treaty text to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This landmark ‘BBNJ Agreement’ represents the culmination of decades of work to pull together the fragmented regime of regulations and bodies that manage how humanity uses two-thirds of the world’s ocean.
A 2-day symposium on various aspects of the BBNJ Agreement took place in Edinburgh on 6-7 October 2023. The programme featured keynotes from leading authorities in each of the four pillars of the agreement:
- Marine genetic resources, including questions on the sharing of benefits;
- Measures such as area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs);
- Environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and
- Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.
The symposium produced a collective statement welcoming the BBNJ Agreement and recognising it importance in safeguarding the health and sustainability of our global ocean and marine biodiversity. The statement collectively expresses symposium participants’ firm and collective commitment to its future implementation. The symposium statement is available for endorsement here.
BBNJ Informal Dialogue
Following the adoption of the BBNJ Agreement in June 2023, the BBNJ Informal Dialogues will continue to advance progress toward the ratification of the Agreement and progress pre- and post-entry into force of the agreement. The BBNJ Informal Dialogues were designed to be a Track 1.5 Progress. Track 1.5 Diplomacy occurs when government representatives and non-governmental experts engage in dialogue or meetings together in less formal ways than Track 1 diplomacy.
The latest BBNJ Informal Dialogue was held on November 22, 2023 at 08:00 US EST. Another meeting will be held on December 18, 2023 at 16:00 US EST. Recent BBNJ Informal Dialogues have been focusing on the road ahead from the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78) to the first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 1) to the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
The two -hour November BBNJ Informal Dialogue continued to focus on what decisions UNGA 78 will take in relation to BBNJ, the functions of the interim secretariat, and the process to secure the required financial resources to support its functions.
Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean
In partnership with the Varda Group and in association with Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, TBA21-Academy, the Tara Ocean Foundation, MedPAN, the Ocean Born Foundation and the Ocean-Climate Platform, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation published Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean: Thinking Outside the Box before the Third UN Ocean Conference.
The title is a nod to the next UN Conference on the Ocean, to be held in the city of Nice in June 2025. The aim of this effort is to make ocean protection the norm rather than the exception. The document examines the modalities, opportunities and risks of the paradigm shift that the Protection Principle could present, enshrining the reversal of the burden of proof whereby it is no longer those who seek to protect the ocean, but those who exploit its resources, who must demonstrate the harmlessness of their projects and actions.
The Let’s Be Nice online platform launched alongside the publication to invite stakeholders to join the conversation in the run-up to the Nice conference.
The BBNJ Agreement and Climate Change Action Webinar
On September 11, 2023, the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) and IUCN hosted a webinar focused on how the new agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) can offer crucial support to climate solutions. This event was featured in the September Special Issue of Ocean & Climate News. A report from the event is included in Section 10.1 of the Report on Assessing Progress on Ocean and Climate Action: 2022-2023.
Continuation of the Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain Memorial Fund
Paris, France – 5th Global Oceans Conference 2010 hosted by UNESCO
Opening symposium with Dr Biliana Cicin-Sain
Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain made significant contributions to the field of marine policy from the global, national, regional and state levels. But one of the greater impacts she made was on the lives and career of around 100 students and professionals whom she influenced and exposed to the various levels and aspects of ocean governance by providing them opportunities to work with her on various international and domestic initiatives.
In August of 2023, the inaugural Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain Fellow, Ms. Sarah Davidson, joined the Global Ocean Forum thanks to the donations made thus far to the Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain Memorial Fund. To further support the development of a Global Ocean Forum internship and fellowship program, the Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain Memorial Fund 2023-2024 campaign has recently been launched. Please consider donating to the 2023-2024 campaign for the Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain Memorial Fund to enable the Global Ocean Forum to support Fellows, the Virtual Ocean Pavilion at the UNFCCC COPs and the “ROCA” report for years to come.