Oceans Action Day, part of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, took place on Saturday, 8 December 2018, in Katowice, Poland, on the sidelines of the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Participants at Oceans Action Day heard presentations from over 50 speakers, including UN Special Envoys and Champions, ministers, ambassadors, and representatives from governments, civil society, academia and the private sector. Discussions, debate and presentations highlighted issues linking the ocean and its resources to climate change adaptation and mitigation, food security, disaster risk reduction, trade, scientific research, finance, and displacement and migration. Participants also considered aspects of the report of the Roadmaps to Oceans and Climate Action (ROCA) Initiative on Assessing Progress on Ocean and Climate Action: 2018, which will be issued officially following COP 24.

In his keynote address, Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, said the second UN Ocean Conference in 2020 should focus on action and funding needed to address risks to the ocean as they relate to climate change. Ocean Action Day participants then engaged in panel discussions on:

• New scientific findings;
• Adaptation and displacement;
• Ocean content of Nationally Determined Contributions and ocean financing; and
• Ocean acidification.

During a high-level wrap-up session, delegates heard from, among others: Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia; Helen Ågren, Swedish Ambassador for the Ocean, Sweden; and Hans-Otto Pörtner, Working Group II Co-Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The meeting closed at 6:26pm.

Marrakech Partnership Ocean and Coastal Zones Action Event

Biliana Cicin-Sain, President, Global Ocean Forum

Tiago Pitta e Cunha, Executive Director, Oceano Azul Foundation

Tomasz Chruszczow, COP 24 Special Envoy for Climate Change and High-level Climate Champion, Poland

Manuel Barange, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Fiji

Participants listen to the discussion

Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO)

Maximiliano Bello, Chile

Hans-Otto Pörtner, Alfred Wegener Institute and IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair

Participants listen to the discussion

A shot of the room during the event

Mobilizing the Ocean Agenda at the UNFCCC

L-R: Julio Cordano, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile, and Because the Ocean; Taholo Kami, Special Representative for the Ocean Pathway, COP 23 Presidency Secretariat, Fiji; Helen Ågren, Ambassador for the Ocean, Sweden; Archibald Young, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, UK; Tiago Pitta e Cunha, Executive Director, Oceano Azul Foundation; and Biliana Cicin-Sain, President, Global Ocean Forum

Julio Cordano, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile, and Because the Ocean

Taholo Kami, Special Representative for the Ocean Pathway, COP 23 Presidency Secretariat, Fiji

Helen Ågren, Ambassador for the Ocean, Sweden

Archibald Young, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, UK

Dorothée Herr, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Keeping time at the event

Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, Portugal

A participant poses a question

Contributing to Global, Regional and National/Sub-National Agendas on the Ocean and Climate Nexus

L-R: Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank; Ken Alex, Director, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, State of California, US; Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portugal; Yoshihisa Shirayama, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC); Ronald Jumeau, Permanent Representative of Seychelles to the UN; Stina Bagge, Youth NGO (YOUNGO) Oceans Working Group; and Tiago Pitta e Cunha, Executive Director, Oceano Azul Foundation

Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank

Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portugal

Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission

Ken Alex, Director, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, State of California, US

Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portugal; Yoshihisa Shirayama, JAMSTEC; Ronald Jumeau, Permanent Representative of Seychelles to the UN

Stina Bagge, YOUNGO Oceans Working Group

Atsushi Sunami, President, Ocean Policy Research Institute and Executive Director, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan

Actions on Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem – Towards Realizing Sustainable Development

L-R: Gemma Harper, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), UK; Carol Turley, Plymouth Marine Laboratory; Sylvie Goyet, Pacific Community; Thérèse Coffey, Parliamentary Undersecretary for DEFRA, UK; Jennifer Hennessey, International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance); Manuel Barange, FAO

Gemma Harper, DEFRA, UK

Thérèse Coffey, Parliamentary Undersecretary for DEFRA, UK

Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General Special Envoy for the Ocean, Fiji

Carol Turley, Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Manuel Barange, FAO

Sylvie Goyet, Pacific Community

Jennifer Hennessey, OA Alliance

Hans-Otto Pörtner, Alfred Wegener Institute and IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair

Babette Christelle Tchonang, Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean

A participant listens to the discussion

Ocean and Climate Nexus

A slide from IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Hans-Otto Pörtner’s presentation

Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair

Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary, IOC-UNESCO

Bruce Glavovic, Massey University, New Zealand, addressed participants via video.

L-R: Kirsten Isensee, IOC-UNESCO; Stephen Crooks, Co-Chair, Blue Carbon Initiative Scientific Working Group; Loreley Picourt, Ocean and Climate Platform; and Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary, IOC-UNESCO

Loreley Picourt, Ocean and Climate Platform

Kirsten Isensee, IOC-UNESCO

Agathe Euzen, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Stephen Crooks, Co-Chair, Blue Carbon Initiative Scientific Working Group

L-R: Atle Solberg, Platform on Disaster Displacement; Dina Ionesco, International Organization for Migration; Peter Ricketts, Coastal Zone Canada and Acadia University, Canada; Espen Ronnenberg, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); and Miko Maekawa, Ocean Policy Research Institute, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan

Atle Solberg, Platform on Disaster Displacement

Dina Ionesco, International Organization for Migration

Peter Ricketts, Coastal Zone Canada and Acadia University, Canada

Espen Ronnenberg, SPREP

L-R: Biliana Cicin-Sain, President, Global Ocean Forum; Torsten Thiele, Global Ocean Trust; Jonathan Taylor, Vice President, European Investment Bank (EIB); Anders Jessen, European Commission (EC); Co-Chair Rémi Parmentier, Director, Varda Group; Co-Chair Tamara Thomas, The Nature Conservancy (TNC); and Eduardo Silva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile

Torsten Thiele, Global Ocean Trust;

Eduardo Silva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chile

Co-Chair Rémi Parmentier, Director, Varda Group

Co-Chair Tamara Thomas, TNC

Biliana Cicin-Sain, President, Global Ocean Forum

Taehyun Park, Greenpeace International

Jonathan Taylor, Vice President, European Investment Bank (EIB)

Anders Jessen, EC

High Level Closing and Looking Ahead

Participants at the event

Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia

Helen Ågren, Ambassador for the Ocean, Sweden

Patricia Fuller, Ambassador for Climate Change, Canada

Julia Feeney, on behalf of Patrick Suckling, Ambassador for the Environment, Australia

L-R: Helen Ågren, Ambassador for the Ocean, Sweden; Patricia Fuller, Ambassador for Climate Change, Canada; Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia; Julia Feeney, on behalf of Patrick Suckling, Ambassador for the Environment, Australia

Speakers, panelists and participants pose for a group photo