06.10.2022
UN calls for protecting the world’s oceans from climate change
Photo by: MAGNIFIER / iStock
The UN has called for more efforts to protect and preserve ocean ecology from the effects of the climate crisis. The statement is timed to coincide with the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP27, which starts in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 6 November.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has also published a report, Ocean and Climate Change, highlighting the key importance of the oceans for biodiversity and livelihoods and as a fundamental component of the global climate system.
The report examines the need for governments to promote clear and forward-looking policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including through offshore renewable energy and reducing emissions from shipping.
The authors of the study set out 10 key messages for governments to consider ahead of COP27. They outline opportunities for more ambitious and proactive action to protect and preserve the ocean environment at national and international levels:
- Countries must protect our oceans and value their potential as places for sustainable climate solutions and action.
- Measures involve options for mitigating (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) climate change and adapting to it.
- The oceans provide space for integrated solutions that can be reflected in national climate policies and strategies.
- Marine technologies and coastal natural systems need to be integrated so that they work together more effectively than in isolation.
- Countries must use, improve and integrate the latest ocean science and other knowledge systems.
- A whole-of-society approach is needed for ocean and climate action, including governance issues.
- Funding for climate action needs to be increased and access to it improved.
- Increased financial and other support should include innovative and interdisciplinary solutions.
- Joint efforts in UN processes will increase institutional support for climate change action.
- Future dialogues on oceans and climate change should focus on selected topics to better explore concrete solutions that strategically support and strengthen national and international action on climate change and the UNFCCC process.
Note that 2022 has been dubbed the ‘Super Year of the Ocean’, with several important steps associated with it. In March, for example, the UN Environment Assembly agreed to start negotiations on a legally binding global agreement to end plastic pollution.
Cover photo: CHUNYIP WONG / iStock
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