GLASGOW: Reacting to the final outcome of the UNFCCC COP26 today, ocean groups from across the world recognised an important process gain for the ocean, but inadequate commitments to tackling climate action.
Glasgow – On the penultimate day of #COP26, scientists have deployed plastic pollution tracking devices into the ocean around Scotland. The devices will help scientists understand how plastic bottles move in the ocean and their interaction with climate change impacts, wildlife and weather patterns.
Continue reading COP26 – MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE – OCEAN PLASTIC EXACERBATING CLIMATE CHANGE
Yesterday more than 28 parties, and several blocks of parties, communicated support to the UK Presidency for an ocean outcome in the COP26 decision text. Today the draft was released and includes the elements requested to strengthen ocean action in the UNFCCC, including creating an annual ocean climate dialogue. Negotiations among parties are ongoing and likely to continue until at least Friday, when it is anticipated the COP will conclude.
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Continue reading Monthly Ocean Science Roundup – October 2021
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), taking place from 31 October to 12 November 2022 in Glasgow, UK, is an opportunity to move ocean climate conservation up the political agenda and raise public awareness that we cannot solve the climate crisis without ocean action.
The OneOcean team and Flotilla partners on the ground are working hard to give the ocean a voice and amplify the importance of ocean action to help solve the climate crisis.
COP26 is off to a good start for ocean-climate action but there’s still a long way to go!
Stay tune for more updates and ocean-climate action from #COP26 as we continue to cover more events and panel discussions including the launch of a new IPSO paper titled The forgotten ocean – why COP26 must call for vastly greater ambition and urgency to address ocean change, COP26 Ocean Action Day and more.
The conference kicked off with a series of ocean actions including the launch of the 3rd Because The Ocean Declaration and the release of a music track made of 100% ocean sound recordings to give the ocean a voice and inspire delegates and world leaders to #ListenToTheOcean.
Statements and declarations by world leaders during the #COP26 Leaders Summit, 1-2 November, demonstrated a clear understanding of what’s at stake, but overall the number of ocean mentions was disappointingly low.
Some leaders recognized the role that the ocean plays in mitigating the impacts of climate change, others shared their genuine concerns for the future of their sinking countries and cities due to sea level rise. Some took concrete action for the ocean. The President of Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, jointly announced the declaration of a new marine reserve in the Galapagos.
On Finance Day, November 3, the focus of the OneOcean Flotilla on the ground was on calling for increased public and private finance into ocean management that mitigates further damage to #BlueNature.
The transition to zero carbon energy raises questions of not just where we are coming from but where we are going to. Commitments to stop using coal for energy needs are well received but we must ensure that extraction of other fossil fuels, for example in the Cambo oil field in the North of Scotland is something that is also ended in years ahead.
Continued burning of fossil fuels and the resulting CO2 emissions have led to ocean heating, sea level rise, ocean acidification and deoxygenation.
On Ocean Day, we took the opportunity to celebrate and amplify the heart of our planet.
The day started at Goals House with Project Everyone and guests to discuss how we can raise ocean concerns and engagement through popular culture. There was also a High Level roundtable co-hosted by the UK Government and the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA).
The Nature Newsroom broadcasting was handed over to the OneOcean Flotilla for a day of all ocean content. And the awesome biologist, Dr Helen Scales, acted as our news anchor throughout.
We also saw ministers reasserting their commitments to protect at least 30% of the ocean through fully and highly protected areas by 2030, and to secure a robust a High Seas Treaty.
Outside the COP, young people were making their voices heard in support of climate action and in the evening there were talks and gathering about how we can achieve recognition that the ocean is at the heart of climate change and so should be at the heart of these negotiations.
Today we saw a first draft of the decision text which contains some of the requested elements to strengthen ocean action in the UNFCCC. The negotiations are ongoing and the text could change but this is a step forward for the ocean. There was less progress more broadly and the draft text doesn’t currently put us on track to achieve the 1.5C. With only two days to go, the COP still have a lot to achieve. Read the full update here.
It’s the penultimate day at COP26. In Plenary, this morning the president of the conference said that there was still a long way before an outcome is being achieved with significant differences on a number of issues including finance.
In the meantime, protests continue outside and the world continues to watch and voice its increasingly urgent demand for meaningful action.
The global ocean community continues to urge world leaders to #ListenToTheOcean.
Has COP26 been blue enough? We asked a panel of ocean advocates.
Welcome to the pre-COP26 OneOcean Flotilla briefing. Since the 4th October we’ve been monitoring English language online media coverage at the intersection of COP26 and the ocean. This briefing will cover media analysis and also our planned activities for COP26.
The full OneOcean Response Room weekly briefing and supporting analysis is available only to Flotilla members. If your organisation is interested in receiving this briefing, is not a member and interested in joining, please email travis@oceanprotect.org
Continue reading OneOcean Response Room Briefing – Pre-COP26
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Continue reading Monthly Ocean Science Roundup – September 2021
Beach cleaner locates and recovers France – one of the seven tracking devices monitoring how plastic moves across the ocean
On the morning of August 17th, France became the sixth of our seven tracking devices released during the UK G7 Summit to beach on shore. Having narrowly avoided the French coast for a number of days, it finally beached on the North West Coast of Guernsey.
Tackling climate breakdown and holding warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as soon as possible is essential if the ecosystem services of the ocean are to survive.
The new IPCC Climate Report, released on Monday 9 August 2021, serves as a stark reminder that we must #ListenToTheOcean and #ListenToTheScience.
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