From Bonn to Antalya: What the 2026 Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue Means for COP31
Every June since 2020, governments, scientists, and civil society have gathered in Bonn for the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue – the only space fully dedicated to the ocean within the Climate Convention (UNFCCC). The seventh edition of the Dialogue, facilitated by Dr. Sivendra Michael (Fiji) and Ulrik Lenaerts (Belgium), took place on 10–11 June 2026. The Ocean & Climate Platform and Ocean Conservancy, in partnership with Conservation International, the European Bureau for Conservation and Development, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Rare, the University of Aberdeen, Wetlands International, WCS and WWF, are releasing a synthesis report capturing key messages and outlining potential pathways for a strong ocean outcome at COP31 in Antalya this November.
Growing blue ambition, yet to drive implementation
Taking place just months after the submission of countries’ new climate strategies, the Dialogue provided an opportunity to assess how the ocean is reflected in the latest round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The findings show strong momentum: more than three-quarters of them include at least one ocean-based measure. At the same time, the discussion highlighted areas where further progress is needed. High-impact mitigation measures – from green shipping to offshore oil and gas phase out and ocean renewable energy – are still lagging far behind, accounting for only around 12% of ocean-based mitigation commitments overall, a missed opportunity for decarbonisation objectives.
The Dialogue showed that the gap between ambition and implementation persists. Many of the ocean commitments now included into NDCs remain conditional on financing, technology transfers and capacity support that is not materialising at the pace or scale needed. Participants pointed to three recurring barriers: finance is too fragmented, too short-term, and too hard to access, especially for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries; persistent gaps in data and monitoring systems remain to track blue carbon and marine ecosystems, and adequately inform policymaking; and insufficient coordination weakens governance, either at the international, regional and national levels.
Against this backdrop, participants highlighted the Blue NDC Challenge and its implementation taskforce, currently under development and expected to be launched at COP31, as an important mechanism to help countries translate ambition into action. Turkyie also positioned the Action Agenda as a mechanism to connect political ambition with practical delivery, showcasing how ocean-based solutions can expand what is considered possible and raise collective ambition. In particular, the Blue Package, designed to advance the Ocean Breakthroughs target, was highlighted as a concrete example of implementation pathways.
A More Strategic Dialogue to “Blue” the Paris Agreement
What stood out most, however, was the growing recognition that the Dialogue must play a more strategic role in informing negotiations and shaping political outcomes – echoing recommendations set out in the article “The Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue in the Implementation Era” published by IISD published at the opening of the sessions. Participants explored a broad range of options to strengthen the Dialogue, but one proposal emerged as a clear priority: the development of a structured, multi-year development plan that would enable the Dialogue to advance ocean integration across climate processes and connect ocean-based solutions to the mechanisms needed to effectively scale them.
This strategic evolution was also reflected in the way the Dialogue helped prepare the ground for COP31. For the first time, discussions placed a stronger emphasis on collectively identifying pathways towards a strong ocean outcome in Antalya, bringing countries together around shared priorities. These priorities, explored in greater detail in this report, include the submission of remaining NDCs with more ambitious ocean-based climate action, integration of ocean considerations into the Second Global Stocktake, increased access to climate finance for ocean action, and the first steps towards advancing the Dialogue’s development plan.
This momentum comes at a critical moment. With both COP31 Co-Presidencies signaling strong support for ocean action, a unique window of opportunity is opening to advance ocean priorities within the Climate Convention. Australia, as President of Negotiations, captured its ambition for COP31 by describing a "continuous and directed ocean current" – a collective effort to ensure that ocean priorities flow through and strengthen the climate agenda. Türkiye, meanwhile, is carrying a strong "blue thread" across negotiations and the Action Agenda. Both endeavors are led in partnership with Pacific countries - with Pre-COP happening in Fiji and Tuvalu helping highlight Pacific vulnerabilities, leadership and solutions.
As we move from ambition to implementation, Bonn showed that the ocean is positioned to be at the heart of the shift. The current is moving, the challenge now is to maintain its momentum all the way to Antalya and turn growing recognition into lasting action.
Read the full report of the 2026 Ocean and Climate Change dialogue here!