With this in mind, and in order to participate in the stocktaking exercise which is the Global Stocktake, the Ocean & Climate Platform and its partners, Conservation International, Rare, The Nature Conservancy, IUCN, Wetlands International, and WWF International, have analysed the integration of coastal and marine ecosystems as nature-based solutions in national climate strategies, between 2015 and 2023 (corresponding to the first NDC revision cycle). The conclusions demonstrate an increasing integration of mitigation and/or adaptation measures, such as the protection of blue carbon coastal ecosystems, the implementation of marine protected areas, or more resilient fisheries management to the impacts of climate change, as well as the economic and social co-benefits that result from them. A trend that could be further strengthened by the next revision cycle, set for 2025, if the Global Stocktake integrated the ocean into its conclusions, thus promoting the development of guidelines to support States.
The initial conclusions of the Global Stocktake warn of the insufficiency of climate action
If the political conclusions of the Global Stocktake must be adopted at COP 28, the technical dialogue synthesis report, published by the Climate Convention last September, sets the tone: while the Paris Agreement has “sparked near-universal climate action“, the window of opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5°C is closing rapidly.
In terms of mitigation, and based on the conclusions of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the technical evaluation recalls the need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030 and by 60% by 2035, compared to 2019 levels, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, the dialogue report indicates that a systemic transformation “in all sectors and in all contexts is necessary”. In this regard, the development of renewable energies and the gradual elimination of “all fossil fuels without mitigation measures” are identified as essential to support this transformation.
Efforts are also deemed insufficient in terms of adaptation, including for loss and damage. Indeed, despite increasing ambition regarding action plans and commitments, “most of the adaptation measures examined are fragmented, incremental, sectoral, and unevenly distributed across regions”. The report also provides information on global trends in adaptation to sea-level rise. It mentions the provision of alternative livelihoods for coastal populations and improved flood management as examples of good practices. It also mentions ecosystem-based adaptation, nature-based solutions, and early warning systems as approaches that can address various risks and different sectors. Finally, it emphasises the importance of coordinating these actions at local, national, regional, and international scales to enhance their effectiveness.
These elements converge with the policy recommendations presented by the Sea’ties initiative of the Ocean & Climate Platform to adapt coastal cities to sea-level rise. Supported by 80 organisations across the world, this document identifies 4 priority areas of action: the implementation of long-term solutions adapted to local contexts, the consideration of social justice, the development of new knowledge, and the construction of a financial model based on solidarity and adapted to coastal cities. Within the scope of the UNFCCC, it specifically calls for the full consideration of adaptation responses to sea-level rise under the Loss and Damage Fund, the Global Goal on Adaptation, and the Global Stocktake.
Although pillar of climate regulation, the ocean is yet absent from the initial key messages of the Global Stocktake
Despite positive signals of better consideration of ocean-based solutions, illustrated both in Parties’ climate strategies and by the growing mobilisation of non-state actors, the ocean was on the margins of the discussions held during the technical dialogue of the Global Stocktake – and absent from the emerging key messages. This gap could have repercussions on the political outcome of the Global Stocktake, which will take the form of a decision at the 5th Conference of the Parties acting as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 5) – i.e., the CMA 5 Decision. To address this, the OCP, in collaboration with Ocean Conservancy and 9 partners, published a series of options for States to integrate the ocean into the decision of the Global Stocktake, proposing specific language elements for each section of the decision under negotiation.
The Ocean Breakthroughs, a concerted and ambitious action plan to respond to the conclusions of the Global Stocktake
Beyond the conclusions of the Global Stocktake, the resulting political response must imperatively be ambitious. To support and encourage action, the ocean community, united under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, with the support of the UN High-Level Climate Champions, launched the Ocean Breakthroughs.
With the ambition to accelerate efforts and investments for ocean-based climate action, they cover five key sectors, ranging from marine conservation to shipping, including coastal tourism, marine renewable energies, and aquatic food. For each sector, quantifiable, science-based targets have been developed, to be achieved by 2030, to ensure a healthy and productive ocean by 2050.
