From the 9th to the 11th of February, the city of Brest in Brittany will welcome the One Ocean Summit, the first international summit dedicated to the ocean organised by France. Announced by the French president Emmanuel Macron during the IUCN World Congress, this event will gather more than 400 participants – country leaders, decision-makers, scientists and civil society representatives – around the major challenges of the ocean. As part of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union (January-June 2022), the One Ocean Summit aims to mobilise the international maritime community to support and expand action for the ocean.
A summit for the ocean
This news was warmly received by the Ocean & Climate Platform (OCP), who has been advocating since its creation for a better integration of the ocean in international negotiations on climate and biodiversity. Indeed, among the numerous topics of the workshops organised during this summit and in which several members of the OCP will be involved (ocean governance, preservation of marine biodiversity, sustainable exploitation of resources, exploration, education and scientific knowledge, sustainable economy, fight against pollution, support for blue finance…), the intangible link between the ocean and climate change is clearly identified. More particularly, the adaptation of cities and their territories to sea level rise will be at the heart of the event co-organised by the Ocean & Climate Platform, the French government, the city of Brest, with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, on the 10th of February from 2:00 to 3:30 pm.
Bringing together the world’s coastal cities around adaptation to sea level rise
Adaptation to sea level rise is a critical challenge for managers of coastal cities and territories. By 2100, more than one billion people are projected to be living on coasts, and without a drastic reduction of our GHG emissions, global mean sea level could rise by more than one meter. Coastal cities are already taking action and the Ocean & Climate Platform intends to bring attention to this during the Sea’ties Forum dedicated to “coastal cities and territories tackling sea level rise”. Considering that cities and their territories are the bearers of innovations to address the risks of submersion, erosion and extreme events, this forum will bring together mayors and governors from all over the world to share their testimonies and promote the actions that have already been implemented. From Bangkok to Lisbon, mayors and governors of coastal cities will be invited to sign the “Cities and their territories tackling sea level rise” declaration: a call to accelerate the implementation of effective, sustainable and equitable mitigation and adaptation strategies. Ahead of the United Nations Conference on the Ocean, to be held in Lisbon in June, this declaration will pave the way for international mobilisation for the adaptation of coastal cities to sea level rise.
Strong expectations voiced by the ocean community
Ahead of the major international meetings taking place in 2022, the One Ocean Summit offers the opportunity for France and the other States present in Brest to demonstrate their political will and translate into concrete actions their ambition to protect the ocean. Time is running out, and the ocean community expects this summit to be a place of commitments that meet the challenges. The One Ocean Summit is in fact the first in a series of major international events for the preservation of the ocean, including the Lisbon conference and the negotiations on the high seas (known as “BBNJ”) in New York, delayed since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Protection of marine biodiversity in territorial waters and in the high seas, overfishing, decarbonisation of the shipping industry, deploying financial resources to support a healthy ocean and the populations that depend on it: these are the issues on which the members of the OCP and the entire international community expect strong commitments and actions, beyond speeches.