Nathalie Kelley
Actress & Activist
The inaugural Ocean x Climate Summit at COP 27 was hosted on November 11th, 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt with the objective of prioritizing the ocean in the global climate agenda. The full-day Summit featured global thought leaders & musical performances from the private sector, indigenous wisdom keepers, government officials, non-profit sector, youth and United Nations partners. The event was programmed in partnership with IOC UNESCO and supported by Salesforce, as well as over 13 Community Partner organizations.
The Summit leveraged artistic mediums to connect people’s hearts to the ocean with the showcase of the ‘UN’s 7 Principles of Ocean Literacy’ digital photo exhibit, the official debut of short-films by OceanX and Dirt Charity, and the world’s first-ever carbon sink sculpture by artist Petroc Sesti, ‘The Heart of Okeanos’. Oceanic Global launched the Ocean x Climate Appeal calling on decision-makers to prioritize ocean-climate matters, as well as the biannual Roundtable Series “Creating a Common Agenda for Our Shared Ocean” with IOC UNESCO.
Actress & Activist
Project Director, Fair Carbon Co-Chair, Mission Blue
Director of Ocean Sustainability, Salesforce
Assistant Director, International Monetary Fund
African Regional Representatives, Sustainable Ocean Alliance & Global Plastic Action Partnership
Founder, DIRT.charity Model and Sustainability Consultant
Sonic Weaver, Aotearoa / New Zealand
UNFCCC Global Ambassador; Chief Executive Officer, Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator
Executive Director, Global Island Partnership
Founder, Battery Tour UN Young leader for SDGs
Surrounding The Ocean X Climate Summit at COP27, Oceanic Global launched The Ocean x Climate appeal. The appeal encouraged individuals to use their voice to sign the appeal and call on decision-makers to prioritize the ocean in climate change matters. The Ocean x Climate Appeal generated a groundswell of public awareness for the importance of the ocean, all who depend on it, and all it sustains, in mitigating the climate crisis.
High-level speakers will open the Ocean x Climate Summit with remarks on the intention of the event to center the ocean on the climate agenda.
Scientific discovery, ocean exploration, and technological innovation all demonstrate how the ocean is our greatest ally in addressing climate change.
Both bottom-up grassroots initiatives and top-down approaches like a Global Plastics Treaty are needed to combat our plastic pollution crisis.
Multi-stakeholder engagement and collective action at a localized level, in both islands and cities, is critical for creating long-term systemic change and to inspire others to follow suit.
This roundtable dialogue is an opportunity to create and support oceans and nature-based solutions in the COP27 negotiations and beyond.
Reframing climate conversations to center on wisdom.
The tourism industry has the potential to be a critical ally in building climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods through driving behavior change and engaging directly with frontline communities.
Addressing climate change will require a shift to an alternative economic model that regenerates our natural world by harnessing the power of nature itself as a climate solution.
Blue Carbon is a key topic at this COP. This discussion will pull together the main issues and provide clarity on what needs to be done to unlock the potential of Blue Carbon.
At COP 27, Oceanic Global kicked off our open-to-the-public round-table series to invite global participation in the Ocean x Climate dialogue, rather than limiting it to those behind closed doors. This dialogue continued the discussion around how to leverage existing UNFCCC processes including COPs and country negotiations to set an ocean-centric and inclusive agenda.
Facilitators included:
Joanna Post (Secretariat of the UNFCCC)
Valentina Germani (UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea)
Courtney Fieldman (Plexus Strategy; former: UN High-Level Climate Champions)
Alison Clausen (Programme Specialist IOC-UNESCO, Deputy Coordinator UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development)
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