In 2017, during its 72nd Session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), starting January 1st 2021. This decision confirms the growing interest of the international community in the ocean and the recognition of its major role in climate regulation, and calls for support for ocean sciences to implement the Paris Agreement and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set by Agenda 2030.
Convinced of this necessity since its creation, the Ocean and Climate Platform and the IOC-UNESCO organized a High-level Scientific Conference on September 10th and 11th 2018, the first event of the UN Decade preparatory phase, in partnership with the French Biodiversity Agency, AllEnvi, the Government of Canada, the French National Centre for Scientific Research, the French Facility for Global Environment, the IFREMER, the French National Research Institute for Development, the Oceanographic Institute Paul Ricard, the Ocean and Climate Initiatives Alliance and the Western Brittany University.
Entitled « From COP21 towards the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) », the Conference brought together 53 speakers: scientists from multiple disciplines, civil society, decision-makers and UN entities, to share their expertise on ocean and climate related issues. Organized around 7 sessions, this conference aimed to establish an overview of the latest major achievements and remaining gaps of ocean science since COP21, when the ocean was integrated to the Paris Agreement, and to reflect on what would be the path from Science to Policy in the context of the Decade.
One year before the launch of the United Nations Decade of Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), two major documents are being published as the Conference’s outcomes:
The Conference Report From COP21 towards the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), written by the Ocean and Climate Platform secretariat on the basis of the discussions held between the conference experts. Split into 3 chapters (Ocean scientific knowledge in a changing climate, Protecting Marine and coastal ecosystems and Governance), the Report aims at synthesizing recent scientific progress on ocean and climate interplays; evaluating the latest ocean-climate trends within the context of increased ocean action; and reflecting on ways to move “from science to action”.
The second document is a scientific article entitled “A Roadmap for Using the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in Support of Science, Policy and Action” published in the review One Earth, and written by the scientists who attended the Conference, coordinated by Joachim Claudet (CNRS), President of the Ocean and Climate Platform’s Scientific Committee. The authors share their knowledge on how to address and overcome the conceptual, organizational and technical scientific challenges that restrain from taking transformative action towards the achievements of the SDGs, to which an healthy ocean can contribute.
Both documents reach similar conclusions : the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development should constitute the momentum for fostering a more integrative ocean science by adopting a transdisciplinary approach, and promoting innovative ocean science through the development of a global ocean-observing system. The integration of the environmental and socioeconomic dimensions into ocean science should be pursued through the diversification of our understanding of societies’ relations to the ocean or by promoting ocean literacy. Finally, translating scientific insights into decision and policy-making processes, and improving the way scientific results can inform action, will help improve governing our blue planet.
Just two weeks before the launch of the COP25 in Madrid, announced as a “Blue COP” by the Chilean Environment Minister and President of COP25, Carolina Schmidt, and one year and a half before the 2nd UN Ocean Conference, we expect these documents to help carry the UN Decade to success and identify the levers for action needed for a healthy ocean, a protected climate.