INTEGRATING THE OCEAN INTO CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY STRATEGIES
The Ocean & Climate Platform (OCP) was built around the need to get the members of civil society to work together in order to create synergies of action and enable actors to share their expertise with one another. Following a collective consultation, the aim is to develop informed and scientifically proven recommendations for decision-makers.
Advocacy work in favour of a better integration of the ocean in national and international climate policies has characterised the action of the Ocean & Climate Platform (OCP) since its creation in 2014.
Since healthy marine ecosystems are an essential condition for climate stability, the OCP is now working to ensure that the solutions emanating from the ocean to mitigate the current environmental crises are better integrated into policies relating to climate (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC) and biodiversity (Convention on Biological Diversity – CBD).
Since 2015, victories for the ocean
COP21: The ocean is mentioned for the first time in a Convention of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC, and is thus integrated into the preamble of the Paris Agreement.
Launch of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a target dedicated to the ocean: SDG14.
COP22: The ocean is integrated into the Global Climate Action Agenda (GCA), which brings together civil society in favour of climate action.
COP23: Launch of the Ocean Pathway Partnership (Read more).
Agenda 2030: 1st UN Conference on the Ocean and the SDG14.
IPCC: Publication of the special report “1.5°C”. The links between ocean and climate change are clearly identified.
IPCC: Publication of the special report “Ocean and Cryosphere”, the first report dedicated to the ocean in the IPCC publications (Read more).
COP25: The ocean is for the first time included in the final decision of a COP – the Blue COP in Madrid.
UNFCCC: Following a decision taken at COP25, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) holds the first Ocean and Climate Dialogue.
COP26: Originally scheduled for 2020, COP26 will be held in Glasgow, UK, from 1-12 November 2021.
Launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences (2021-2030).
IUCN World Congress: the ocean is one of the 5 priority themes.
“A Collective Voice to Turn the Tide for the Ocean, Climate and Biodiversity”.
Ten years after Paris, real progress has been made: the ocean is no longer seen only as a victim of climate change, but as central to the solution. Yet, progress remains too slow, and the geopolitical landscape has shifted. Science faces growing attacks, particularly on climate change where evidence meets denial, and multilateralism and international cooperation are increasingly undermined.
In this context, the Ocean & Climate Platform unveils its new policy recommendations: “A Collective Voice to Turn the Tide for the Ocean, Climate and Biodiversity”.
The policy recommendations are addressed to national and international decision-makers – particularly those involved in UNFCCC and CBD processes as well as in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – and articulated around three pillars:
- Understand – Ocean-climate-biodiversity knowledge for informed decisions
- Deliver – Ocean-based solutions for climate, nature, and people
- Reshape – New socio-economic, financial, and political systems for a thriving ocean
The document concludes with a call to action, highlighting clear priorities to turn these recommendations into concrete action while advancing integrated ocean governance.
WHAT ROLE FOR THE OCP AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL?
Federating civil society on ocean issues
Due to its expertise and its role as a federator within the ocean community, the OCP became the “ocean and coastal zone” focal point within the Global Climate Action Agenda (GCA) since 2020. It promotes ocean-inspired solutions to climate change.
OCP is also co-organiser of the Ocean Action Day at COP26 in Glasgow (2021).
Encouraging states to increase their ambition to protect the ocean
Through its partnership with the Because The Ocean initiative, OCP encourages states to integrate ocean-related measures into the definition of their climate strategies (NDC’s).
OCP also contributes as an expert to the Nairobi Work Program’s (UNFCCC) “ocean, coastal areas and ecosystems” group.
Strengthening ocean governance and promoting synergies between climate and biodiversity conventions
The climate and biodiversity crises are intrinsically linked. To address these common challenges, it is more than necessary to strengthen the synergies between the conventions dedicated to them. In this reconciliation, the ocean has a crucial role to play. (Discover our policy brief)
NATIONAL ACTION: THE FRANCE OCEAN COMMITTEE (CFO)
Since September 2020, the OCP has provided the secretariat for the France Ocean Committee (CFO), a consultation group chaired by the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTE) and the General Secretariat for the Sea (SGmer). The aim of this consultation group is to build up a regular and sustained exchange between the State, its public establishments in charge of the sea and marine environment protection organisations.