Why "ocean and climate" ?
Covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, the ocean is a complex ecosystem that provides services that are essential to sustain life on Earth. More than 25% of the CO2 emitted each year by humans into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean and it is also the world’s largest net supplier of oxygen, playing an equally important role as forests. The Ocean is therefore the planet’s main lung and is at the heart of the global climate machine.
While the ocean continues to limit global warming, anthropogenic pressure – mainly CO2 emissions – overexploitation of resources and pollution have been degrading marine ecosystems for several decades. The ocean may see its role as a climate regulator disrupted. It is therefore urgent to maintain the functional quality of marine ecosystems and restore those that are deteriorating, for “a healthy Ocean, a protected climate”.
Our history
Although it is an essential component to regulate the climate system, the ocean has long been absent from climate negotiations. In light of this observation, and with the willingness to overcome it, the Ocean & Climate Platform (OCP) was created on 8 June 2014, on the occasion of World Ocean Day, with the support of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and an informal group from civil society.
Among these actors, you will find the CNRS, the Tara Ocean Foundation, the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute, the IDDRI, the IUCN French Committee, the Prince Albert I Foundation Oceanographic Institute, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Surfrider Foundation Europe, Nausicaa, joined by the French Maritime Cluster, Armateurs de France and the Institut Français de la Mer.
Thus, since 2014, the Ocean & Climate Platform has been working to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and policy making. The key objectif: ensuring that the scientific messages on the interactions between the ocean, climate and biodiversity are acknowledged and taken into account by both policy makers and the general public.
Its work is organized around three main objectives: outreach and mobilization, scientific knowledge dissemination, advocacy and international mobilisation.
Who are we ?
The OCP now gathers more than 100 members – research institutes, NGOs, aquariums, private sector, French institutions and international agencies, local authorities – working together in order to spread the following message : “a healthy ocean for a protected climate”. If the ocean is particularly vulnerable to climate change, it also is a source of mitigation and adaptation solutions.
Through its role of interface between science and policy, the Ocean & Climate Platform fosters reflection and exchanges between the scientific community, civil society and policy-makers. Its ambition is to mobilize the largest number of actors for better consideration of the scientific message on the interactions between the ocean, climate and biodiversity by policy-makers and the general public.
Our objectives
The OCP is committed to making the voice of civil society heard and participates in the mobilization of ocean stakeholders on ocean, climate and biodiversity issues. It coordinates a strong network of more than 90 members from various sectors. Thanks to their expertise and involvement, the OCP carries out various awareness-raising actions with the general public: organisation of conferences and thematic meetings, communication campaigns and production of informational tools such as learning sheets entitled “Ocean and Climate : new challenges” or thirteen scientific sheets.
The fight against climate change requires a common awareness of the challenges related to the ocean, climate and biodiversity. Consequently, the Ocean & Climate Platform is committed to increasing the production of scientific knowledge on ocean, climate and biodiversity issues, in particular through the action of its Scientific Committee, which actively contributed to the negotiation for the production of a Special Report on the Ocean and the Cryosphere by the IPCC, published in September 2019.
Advocacy work for better integrating the ocean into national and international climate policies has characterized the work of the Ocean & Climate Platform since its creation. This work was first rewarded with the integration of the ocean into the preamble of the Paris Agreement at COP21. Since then, the OCP has continued to raise ocean – climate – biodiversity issues in different bodies – UNFCCC, CBD – and published in 2019 its Policy Recommendations for policymakers.
2021-2022 Vision
Today, better consideration of ecosystemic services, particularly within biodiversity bodies, is necessary to bring forward the ocean and climate field.
The Ocean & Climate Platform aims to provide civil society and decision-makers with new knowledge and insights on the issues, challenges and solutions at the interfaces between biodiversity, the ocean and climate. As ocean-climate-biodiversity issues gain prominence on the international political agenda, France aims at mobilizing all stakeholders to step up action on biodiversity challenges so that it is on a par with action on climate.
With the upcoming CDB COP15 (post-2020 biodiversity strategy ; October 2021 / spring 2022) & the UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow (november 2021), the 2021-2022 period will be crucial for the ocean: from its consideration in the climate system to the protection of its biodiversity and the ecosystemic services it provides.