COP28 Dubai Ocean Declaration
The ocean is both the largest living space on Earth and a fundamental part of our planetary climate system. But human activity, particularly in the form of greenhouse gas emissions that adversely impact the heat content, sea level, and acidity of the oceans, interferes with the ocean’s ability to support marine and terrestrial life, and hinders sustainable development worldwide. Calls for drastic cuts of greenhouse gas emissions need to be heeded, and concrete steps taken to curb other anthropogenic disruptions that interfere with the ocean’s natural function, including overfishing, habitat destruction, and marine pollution. At the same time, humanity must seek ways based on sound scientific evidence of removing carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere and storing it safely and reliably away from the atmosphere for long periods of time.
As the largest, most dynamic reservoir of carbon in Earth’s climate system, the ocean can and must play a central role in efforts to achieve net-negative emissions and meet the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement. As a critical part of other life-sustaining planetary processes, the ocean must also be protected from continued anthropogenic change, including any climate mitigation efforts and especially as the rapidly changing Earth system becomes less predictable.
To this end, partners of the Ocean Pavilion at COP28 and associated stakeholders call on world leaders to support and foster efforts to greatly expand and improve ocean observations worldwide to provide a basis for understanding ongoing natural and anthropogenic change and for planning mitigation and adaptation strategies, with a particular emphasis on building capacity in developing nations and on expanding coverage of under-observed regions. Specific efforts include:
- Improve global stocktake estimates and measures of progress towards goals laid out in the Paris Agreement by providing better measures of carbon fluxes through the ocean and a more comprehensive view of Earth’s ocean-climate system.
- Implement robust, cooperative monitoring, reporting, and verification of new and emerging ocean-based carbon dioxide removal strategies to ensure measurable progress towards net-negative emissions while also protecting critical ocean ecosystems.
- Expand observing capabilities to measure the widest possible suite of essential climate and biological variables to better understand and address the impacts of climate change on the distribution of ocean life, marine ecosystem health, biomass, and biodiversity.
- Develop capacity among island nations and developing countries and refine methodologies to account for contributions by the ocean’s natural functions and the blue economy to climate stabilization through nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans.
An accelerated scientific research and technology development program to achieve these goals and establish the global- and regional-scale ocean observing system as an essential global infrastructure is urgently needed, with new public- and private-sector investments to ensure its long-term success and viability. At the same time, the research community must strengthen efforts to incorporate traditional, indigenous, and place-based knowledge to create a more holistic view of the ocean-climate system and enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems and human society. It is important that all research and testing activities be conducted in ways that are transparent, ethical, and designed to ensure the continued health and vitality of the global ocean and the ecosystem services that benefit everyone.
We call on the Parties of COP28 to take these needs into consideration and adopt measures individually and collectively to enhance protection of the ocean, starting with an expansion of the observational capacity that is the foundation of the scientific evidence to guide progress. With it, society may better understand and more fully mitigate the risks being posed by climate change to the ocean on which we all depend.
ORGANIZING PARTNER SIGNATORIES
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Peter de Menocal, President and Director
Scripps Institution of Oceanography/University of California San Diego
Margaret Leinen, Vice Chancellor for Marine Science and Director
LEAD PARTNER SIGNATORY
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Antha Williams, Environmental Program Lead
SUPPORTING PARTNER SIGNATORIES
American Geophysical Union
Lisa J. Graumlich, President
Avatar Alliance Foundation
Maria Wilhelm, Executive Director
Ocean Policy Research Institute, Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Hide Sakaguchi, President
OceanX
Mark Dalio, Founder & Co-CEO
Vincent Pieribone, Ph.D, Co-CEO & Chief Science Officer
COLLABORATING PARTNER SIGNATORIES
Blue Marine Foundation
Daniel Crockett, Director Ocean and Climate
Carbon to Sea Initiative
Antonius Gagern, Executive Director
CMA CGM
Claire Martin, CSR Vice President
Environmental Defense Fund
Eric Schwaab, Senior VP, People and Nature
Fugro
Mark Heine, CEO
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Prof. Dr. Katja Matthes, Director
Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform (CORDAP)
Carlos M. Duarte, Executive Director
IFREMER
François Houllier, President & CEO
Minderoo Foundation
Andrew Forrest, Chairman
National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Egypt
Prof. Amr Hamouda, President
Dr. Suzan El-Gharabawy, Vice President
National Oceanography Centre, UK
Prof. Anthony Edward Hill CBE, Chief Executive
Ocean Frontier Institute, led by Dalhousie University
Dr. Anya Waite, CEO and Scientific Director
Ocean Visions
Brad Ack, CEO
Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
Olivier Wenden, Vice President and CEO
Propeller Ventures
Dr. Julie Pullen, Partner and Chief Scientist
Running Tide
Brad Rochlin, Director of Strategic Partnerships
UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary
Universidade de São Paulo (USP) / São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
Fernando Menezes, Administrative Director (FAPESP)
Dr. Paulo Sumida, Director, Oceanographic Institute (USP)
Additional Signatories
Alfred Wegener Institut Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung
Antje Boetius, Director
Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S.
Brit Myers, Engagement Director
Bioceanor
Dupont Samuel, CEO
Blue Cradle Foundation
James Nikitine, Founder
Braid Theory
Ann Carpenter, CEO
Center for Coastal Studies
Richard F. Delaney, President
Center for Ocean Leadership at UCAR
Sonya Legg, Director
Centre for Marine & Coastal Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Aileen Tan Shau Hwai, Director
Centre Universitaire de Recherche et d’Application en Télédétection (CURAT), Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory
Dr. Abaka Brice Herve Mobio, Lab Manager
Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Baja California (CICESE)
Carmen Paniagua, Director, Oceanology Division
Chilean Consortium (COPAS, IMO, DOCE)
Carina Lange, Prof. Emeritus, COPAS
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oceanology
Fan Wang, Director
City to Sea
Natalie Fee, Founder
Coastal and Marine Research Institute (INVEMAR)
Francisco Arias-Isaza, General Director
Colectivo Internacional Pelagos Okeanos
Sergio Cambronero Solano, Co-founder & Chief Development Officer
Dalhousie University, Department of Oceanography
Dr. Katja Fennel, Department Head
DEEP
Sean Wolpert, President, Americas
Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy
Dona Bertarelli, Founder
Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute)
Dawn Wright, Chief Scientist
EuroGOOS (European Global Ocean Observing System)
Inga Lips, Secretary General
Europe Jacques Delores
Geneviève Pons, CEO and Vice Chair
European Marine Board
Sheila JJ Heymans, Executive Director
European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet)
Kate Larkin, Head of Secretariat
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
Prof. Dr. Jan Mees, General Director
Future Planet Capital
Ed Phillips, Investment Director
German Marine Research Alliance (DAM)
Dr. Joachim Harms, Chairman of the Board
Global Choices
Inge Relph, Executive Director
Global Ocean Forum
Indumathie Hewawasam, Director
Richard F. Delaney, President of Board of Directors
Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS)
Dr. Toste Tanhua, Co-Chair
Global Ocean Trust
Torsten Thiele, Founder
Hakai Institute / Tula Foundation
Eric Peterson, Director
Hen Mpoano
Stephen Kankam, Deputy Director
Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative
Mas Achmad Santosa, CEO
Institut de Recherches Halieutiques et Océanologiques du Bénin (IRHOB)
Zacharie Sohou Ph.D., Professor & Director
Institut des sciences de la mer (ISMER) de l'Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
Guillaume St-Onge, Director
Institute for Climate & Peace
Dr. Kealoha Fox, President
Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California at Santa Cruz
Daniel Costa, Director
Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC)
Javier Tomas Ruiz Segura, Director
International Centre for Environmental Education and Community Development (ICENECDEV)
Fongoh Eric, General Coordinator
INVEMAR Colombia
Francisco A. Arias-Isaza, General Director
IRD (French Research Institution for Sustainable Development)
Valerie Verdier, CEO
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Dr. Kawano Takeshi, Executive Director
The Jock Clough Marine Foundation
Jock Clough, Trustee
Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST)
Do-Hyung Kang, President
La Zone Bleue
Martin Beaulieu, CEO
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany
Prof. Dr. Raimund Bleischwitz, Scientific Director
Live Ocean Foundation
Sally Paterson, Chief Executive
Mar y Comercio
Marilyn S. Valverde Salas, Founder and General Manager
Marine Biological Association
Prof. Willie Wilson, Chief Executive
Marine Conservation Society
Jean-Luc Solandt, Principal Specialist, Marine Protected Areas
Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute
Tony MacDonald, Director
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Chris Scholin, President and CEO
Nigerian Institute for Oceanography And Marine Research
Nubi Olubunmi Ayoola, Assistant Director
Novarium
Amélie Desrochers, CEO
Ocean Born Foundation
Carolina Manhusen Schwab, Co-Founder and President
Ocean Community Associação
Susanne Wedin-Schildt, President
Ocean Conservation Trust, Ltd.
Roger Maslin, CEO
Ocean Data Network
Cooper Van Vranken, Founder & CEO
The Ocean Foundation
Mark J. Spalding, President
The Ocean Institute, Sorbonne University
Christophe Prazuck, Director
Ocean Ledger
Paige Roepers, CEO
Ocean Networks Canada
Kate Moran, President & CEO
The Ocean Race
Richard Brisius, Race Chairman
Ocean Solutions Indonesia (OSI)
M. Zulficar Mochtar, Founder and CEO
Ocean Warrior
Jim McNeill, Explorer and Founder
Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation
Robert Calcagno, CEO
Oceana
James Simon, President
Oceanfarmr
James Horton, Co-founder & CTO
Oceans Alive Conservation Trust
Colin Levin, CEO
One Ocean Foundation
Jan Hans Georg Pachner, Secretary General
The Pacific Community (SPC)
Dr. Jerome Aucan, Head, Pacific Community Center for Ocean Science
Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO)
Sophie Seeyave, CEO
Planet Tracker
François Mosnier, Head of Oceans Programme
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Icarus Allen, Chief Executive
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, The Vatican
Prof. Joachim von Braun, President
Cardinal Peter Turkson, Chancellor
Project Seagrass
Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, CEO
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Han Dolman, Director
Rumah Foundation
Kathlyn Tan, Director
Rutgers University, Department of Marine and Coastal Science
Oscar Schofield, Chair
Scottish Association for Marine Science
Prof. Nicholas J. P. Owens, Executive Director
Sea-Bird Scientific
Robert Ellison, Director, Research & Development
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Department of Oceanography
Dr. Subrata Sarker, Assistant Professor and Department Head
Simply Blue Group
Val Cummins, Chief Impact Officer
Surfers Against Sewage
Giles Bristow, CEO
TechWorks Marine
Charlotte O’Kelly, Managing Director
Tridel Technologies
Balakrishnan Manoharan, Regional Director
Universidade do Algarve
Maria Alexandra Anica Teodósio, Vice-Rector
Universidade Santa Cecília (UNISANTA)
Profa. Dra. Silvia Teixeira Penteado, Rector
Prof. Dr. Fabio Giordano
Universisty of Calabar, Nigeria
Prof. Francis Emile Asuquo, Director, Marine Atmosphere and Coastal Ocean Research Network (MACORN-UNICAL)
University of Ghana, Department of Marine and Fisheries Science
Dr. Benjamin Osei Botwe, Department Head
Dr. Edem Mahu, Senior Lecturer
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Michael E. Sieracki, Professor and Director
University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography
Paula Bontempi, Dean
UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia
Christophe Gaudin, Director
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
D, Derek Aday, Dean and Director
Washington Ocean Acidification Center
Jan Newton, Senior Principal Oceanographer & Professor
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Chris Butler-Stroud, CEO
World Economic Forum, Friends of Ocean Action and Ocean Action Agenda
Alfredo Giron, Head
World Ocean Council
Paul Holthaus, Founding President and CEO
Xiamen University, Marine Science
Dr. Fei Chai, Chair Professor
XPRIZE Foundation
Peter Houlihan, Executive Vice President, Biodiversity & Conservation