Campus mondial de la mer signs the Ocean for Climate declaration

Campus mondial de la mer is engaging in a collective effort of 93 research actors in an urgent call to action to accelerate the deployment of ocean-based climate solutions.

Among them are many members of the Campus community:

• The European Institute for Marine Studies (IUEM),
• ISblue,
• Ocean University initiative,
• Océanopolis,
• The French Office for Biodiversity (OFB),
• RespectOcean,
• SEA-EU,
• the Shom,
• Under the pole,
• The University of Brest (UBO).

The signatories are calling on State Parties to the UNFCCC to:

• Intensify efforts to achieve the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement;
• Scale-up action at the national level and include ocean-related measures such as accounting for ocean change risks, restoring and protecting coastal and marine ecosystems, especially blue carbon (i.e. mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses), developing large-scale offshore wind and marine renewable energy with net-positive biodiversity impact;
• Ensure a "just transition" to ocean-based climate solutions;
• Adopt ecosystem-based approaches to sustainably and equitably manage 100% of the global Ocean;
• Recognize the need and importance of area-based management tools;
• Increase the share of climate finance for ocean-based mitigation;
• Strengthen ocean-climate science – observations, research, and data-sharing – building on the UN Decades of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and of Ecosystem Restoration;
• Leverage other global processes to build synergies across ocean-climate action – including with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the International Maritime Organization, the World Trade Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the International Seabed Authority.

They, as non-state actors – including NGOs, scientific institutions, international organisations, companies, cities, regions, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), voluntary initiatives and financial institutions – are committing to boost the ambition loop, in their respective organisations’ areas of competences, by:

• Delivering on the Race to Zero by taking rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and deliver a healthier, more equitable, nature-positive and net-zero carbon world by no later than 2050, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C;
• Delivering on the Race to Resilience by acting, investing and publicly reporting on actions taken to protect and restore coastal and marine ecosystems (i.e. mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, as well as kelp beds, sand dunes, coral reefs and deep ocean ecosystems);
• Collecting, managing and sharing relevant scientific data to improve global understanding of ocean-climate interactions and support an increase in ocean literacy;
• Supporting specific actions for:
  • The Ocean Renewable Energy industry,
  • The Maritime Transport industry,
  • Aquatic food production industry,
  • The Finance sector.