The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place from November 6 to 18 in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt. Thirty years after the adoption of the three Rio conventions on climate, biodiversity and desertification, and in a context of multiple crises, COP27 must be a time for action to respond to the growing impacts of climate change. Under the Presidency of Egypt, and with the Paris Rulebook finalised at COP26, the States Parties must agree to raise their ambitions and concretely translate their commitments into action on four priorities: mitigation, adaptation, finance and loss and damage. Organised on the African continent, this COP27 could be decisive in renewing North-South trust and international cooperation for climate action. As the ocean is at the crossroads of these issues, the Ocean & Climate Platform will be mobilised alongside the ocean community to ensure that the ocean is better integrated into the UNFCCC framework and within stakeholders’ action programmes.
From Glasgow to Sharm El-Sheikh: Translating commitments on mitigation, adaptation, finance and loss and damage into concrete action
With the finalisation of the Paris Rulebook at COP26, the Parties have committed under the Glasgow Pact to raise their ambition as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) on mitigation, while focusing more efforts on adaptation towards the achievement of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). However, COP26 highlighted the failure of developed countries to raise 100 billion dollars per year to finance developing countries’ actions to combat climate change, despite being essential to implement international climate ambitions. To operationalise these commitments, the Parties will have to scale-up their efforts and define mechanisms to monitor adaptation and mitigation finance. Similarly, while COP26 marked the culmination of dissension on loss and damage and the creation of a financing facility, this topic will again be on the negotiation table. For decades, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are increasingly affected by the multiplication and intensification of extreme events, have been pushing forward this critical topic. Once again, they will be at the forefront to advance negotiations, in spite of the continuous holding backs from developed countries. To date, Denmark is the only developed country to have recently announced the creation of a dedicated fund for loss and damage.
Scaling up action for the ocean
At the crossroads of these issues, a healthy ocean is crucial in meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement. COP26 final decision was a decisive step as it acknowledged the contribution of marine ecosystems in carbon sequestration (Article 21) and institutionalised an annual “ocean-climate” dialogue under the umbrella of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, known as SBSTA (Article 61). This dialogue provides a forum for reflection and discussion to encourage action and enhanced commitments of State Parties on ocean-climate issues. The first edition, held in June 2022 in Bonn, shed light on a multitude of ocean-based solutions, as well as the levers to accelerate their implementation in order to better address the climate crisis.
COP27 is an opportunity to strengthen this momentum. The ocean community will be more than ever mobilised throughout the multitude of events dedicated to the ocean and on the Ocean Pavilion. In line with this, the Global Climate Action Agenda together with the OCP will co-host three “ocean” events (November 8 and 16) to not only report on existing actions, but also to accelerate the implementation of ocean-based solutions.
United around a common message, the ocean community calls stakeholders to:
- Intensify the development and implementation of science-based ocean solutions that benefit both climate and nature – such as the decarbonisation of maritime transport, the development of marine renewable energy, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and nature-based solutions. Considering that state and non-state actors are key to driving change, the OCP together with the World Resources Institute, the Global Ocean Trust and the High-Level Climate Champions have published the “Blue Ambition Loop: Achieving Ambitious 2030 Ocean-Climate Action”, which underlines growing ocean actions from non-state actors.
- Elevate coastal resilience and adaptation, by giving a central place to local and indigenous communities as guarantors of the implementation of resilient solutions to climate change and respect for nature. On the front line of climate change, they must be the main beneficiaries of sustainable coastal development. In this regard, the OCP and the CNRS have released the policy brief “The Contribution of Marine Protected Areas to Climate Change Adaptation. State of the Evidence and Policy Recommendations”, following the publication in One Earth of the article “Ocean conservation boosts climate change mitigation and adaptation”, which highlights the contribution of MPAs to mitigation and adaptation – provided they are under a strong or full protection regime.
- Recognise that more finance is needed for the ocean and coasts to develop science-informed sustainable ocean-based solutions. The “Blue-tinted White Paper, Investment Protocol: Unlocking financial flows for coastal cities adaptation to climate change and resilience building” notably highlights the need to further mobilise private and public investments as well as actors of the blue economy to finance coastal cities’ adaptation.
- Recognise Africa as an ocean action and innovation hub, and capitalise on COP27 to share, develop and scale-up the deployment of ocean-based solutions at the regional level.
The latest Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of the insufficiency of measures compared to the urgency to drastically – and immediately – reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. In order to keep global warming under 1.5°C, global emissions must be halved by 2030 compared to 2019, and reach a “net zero” level by 2050. As provided by the Paris Agreement, the first Global Stocktake will be launched next year to take stock on progress and assess the effects of climate change responses. With one year to go, and in order to avoid COP27 repeating the same scenario as COP15 in Copenhagen where negotiations had failed, States must now meet their commitments in order to restore the confidence necessary to deliver results. This “African COP”, whose slogan is “Together for implementation”, is an opportunity to lay the foundations for a renewed multilateralism, supported by civil society and informed by science, and to send a powerful signal as to the importance of international cooperation on climate action.