The Roundtable: Creating a Common Agenda for our Shared Ocean series is designed to foster inclusive dialogue and drive a strong ocean-climate focus on the agenda within the UNFCCC processes, other UN processes and global convenings. This series provides an opportunity for diverse stakeholders to contribute to ocean climate agenda priorities and build a collective vision that influences formal negotiations and dialogue. The Roundtable series is hosted by Oceanic Global in partnership with IOC UNESCO and The Ocean Decade alongside collaborators at the UNFCCC and UN High-Level Climate Champions. The series kicked off at the Ocean x Climate Summit hosted as a day-long in-person side event at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022.
Join Us
Join us at the next virtual Roundtable on 9th March at 11AM ET / 5PM CET! REGISTER HERE
In the meantime, contribute your insight to the discussion via this form.
You can choose to join one of four discussion circles on these different topics:
UNFCCC Processes | Finance & Policy | Bridging Gaps & Building Capacity | Outreach & Engagement
Summary of Outcomes from Egypt – November 2022
Read the Full Report Here. (Key takeaways pulled out below)
Current Knowledge Gaps:
- Only a small fraction of even those who work daily on climate issues understand the importance of the ocean in the climate discussion.
- The ones who make the decisions are not the ones affected.
- Lack of a strong ocean agenda within UNFCCC processes including the Paris Agreement and NDC targets.
- Poor representation of ocean stakeholders in UNFCCC delegations and negotiations.
- Absence of a consolidated platform to talk directly to negotiators.
- Poor understanding and clarity on ocean assets and how to bring them into NDCs.
- Lack of capacity/training for implementation on the ground.
- Poor communication and data gaps between national and local needs/demands.
Direct Opportunities for Action:
- The ocean should be included in all UNFCCC agendas ~ this could happen through local and regional negotiations, which would be supported by UNFCCC for each specific area such as: in capacity building, technology support for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This can directly influence international, regional and local communications and reporting.
- It is critical to identify adaptation knowledge gaps on regional levels through research that could help policymakers understand the importance of the ocean and make realistic decisions also from economic and social perspectives.
- Establish channels for international cooperation with different parties and identify ways to include ocean representatives and stakeholders in UNFCCC delegations.
- Collaborate and agree on what we want to ask for at international convenings globally as an ocean community to bring ideas to negotiators (acknowledging that they cannot attend all meetings and side events).
- We need to decide how we are going to support champions (e.g. SIDS who have the least capacity and the most interest) and how we can support their participation in negotiations. Seeing national ocean champions at COP28 would be a win.
- Clarify and improve narratives about the multifaceted role of the Ocean at a local and national level. Geographic characteristics could potentially help governments meet their NDCs more efficiently.
- Boost community-building decisions and substantive capacity building.
- Support local implementation and recognize how this supports local livelihoods.
- Involve non-state actors on finance to accelerate implementation. Specifically, engage non-state actors to drive private and public concessional finance to meet implementation needs and “cluster” around certain projects because of the recognized payoff.
- We need translators to bridge the different sectors – we need people to foster intersectional dialogues to create community.
- We need to create spaces that equally value all forms of knowledge, that consider Indigenous, local and traditional knowledge on an equal plane with science and to consider both natural and social sciences in equal parts.
- Broaden the scope of climate-induced natural disaster relief and prevention to include mitigation and ocean action.