Although the 2020 Ocean Conference has been postponed due to the pandemic, the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs recently launched a series of “Keeping the Momentum for Ocean Action” webinars as part of substantive preparations for the event.
During a May 14 webinar focused on youth participation and engagement, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations Amb. Duarte Lopes noted the need to keep the ocean high on the agenda and cited a full commitment to ocean action and working with youth to make the conference a platform for scaling up ocean action and an event that is as inclusive as possible. Lopes noted that a youth forum is being planned for the weekend prior to the rescheduled conference.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson said that the conference will be held as soon as conditions allow, and stated the need and responsibility to keep the momentum going toward implementation of the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goal 14. He also cited the Registry of Commitments related to the Conference and urged participants to add their commitments to the Registry.
In addition, Thomson said that the ocean must be respected and that its food, health, and renewable energy benefits cannot be realized “if we continue to pollute it and to damage it in the way that we are at the moment.” In terms of recovery from the pandemic, he added that we “can’t take that low road that’s just going to take us back through fossil fuels and the convenience of old ways,” but rather take the “blue-green road to recovery,” also calling global warming greenhouse gas emissions “our common enemy.” As to climate, Thomson also said that nations must be expected to come to next year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow with “greatly enhanced” nationally determined contributions.
As to mobilizing youth toward ocean action, guest speakers discussed opportunities surrounding local and global action, including beach cleanups, better understanding the science behind marine plastic and where it comes from, promoting ocean education, participation in events such as the upcoming June 2 Sustainable Ocean Alliance Connects Ocean Solutions Summit, the importance of imagery, use of social media, and the importance of action-related campaigns that inform the public and youth on what steps they can take.
On May 21, another webinar was held with individuals from the private sector representing Camanchaca, Lloyd’s Register, and Citigroup. UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (Nigeria) called for urgent action to combat ocean acidification and pollution, biodiversity loss on land and water, deforestation, ecosystem change, and sea level rise, and in responding to the pandemic talked about the “unique role” that the private sector can play in recovery by investing in the green and blue economies.
Camanchaca’s representative noted aquaculture’s role as a key supplier of healthy protein and said it can help lead way out of the pandemic crisis, including through speeding up development of local supply chains for well-established industries like salmon, which he said can be challenging but could have huge impact on creation of new jobs and businesses. Although it is the world’s fastest-growing sector, to take full advantage of the benefits aquaculture can bring, they noted the need to obtain social and political licenses to operate. Looking ahead at the UN Ocean Conference now expected in 20201, in order to ensure that the ocean fully contributes to world economy, they called for alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals through achieving broad consensus among many stakeholders, given the multiple uses of ocean and the huge potential they represent.
Citi’s representative emphasized the importance of private sector investment to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals and the need to maintain the focus of investors through the pandemic. They noted the role of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and the fact that ESG funds have been outperforming the market so far. They also noted the growing popularity of green and sustainable bonds and Citi’s endorsement of the UN Global Compact’s Blue Bond principles, adding that sustainable ocean principles for measurable, material targets are within the control of companies/governments that set targets and that Citi is applying blue bonds to oceans and putting money to work. As to the UN Ocean Conference, they noted that a public-private partnership mentality is needed, private investors are committed to the process, transparent, verifiable commitments provide a yardstick against which financing will be done and against which risks will be measured, and investments in technologies must be done with scale and replicability.
Lloyd’s Register’s representative discussed the opportunity to rebuild the global economy and health system in a more resilient way that is more beneficial in the long-term, and the role that offshore renewable energy can play in economic recovery and bringing about environmental benefits. In doing so, they stressed the need for government and industry to work together to create policy that allows for strong financial and low-risk adaptation of ocean renewable energy development so that industry will invest and accelerate its development. They also called for governments to work with industry to address concerns through policy regarding shared ocean space and use in order to overcome challenges and unlock the potential of new industries like offshore renewable technology and aquaculture.
On June 3, an additional webinar will focus on Asia-Pacific stakeholder participation and engagement, with the thematic scope covering marine plastics and ocean and climate synergies.
