Climate change and global food systems were key themes at the United Nations Ocean Conference in June 2022, which focused on achieving the aims of several Sustainable Development Goals.
“We are facing an ‘Ocean Emergency’. We must turn the tide. A healthy and productive ocean is vital to our shared future.” These were the words of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in the opening statement of the Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, from 26 June to 1 July 2022.
The event aimed to discuss the future of ocean health and productivity and it drew more than 6000 delegates from 150 countries, including several Australians. Government, industry, research, community and NGO stakeholders came together to review progress and plan future action on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water – ‘Conserve and Sustainably Use Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources for Sustainable Development’. Discussions also had relevance to SSDG 2 (Zero hunger), 4 (Quality education), 5 (Gender equality), 7 (Affordable and clean energy), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 10 (Reduced inequalities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 13 (Climate action).
The conference reinforced the essential links between the oceans, biodiversity and climate, with oceans both influencing and being impacted by climate change. It is a nexus that has only received formal recognition in global climate and policy debates since the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow in 2021.
The ‘Ocean Emergency’ referred to by António Guterres includes rising temperatures, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, plastic pollution and resulting declining ocean productivity.
But the potential for oceans to address climate change was also firmly on the agenda. This included Blue Carbon initiatives, ocean restoration projects and the ocean’s role as a provider of food and livelihoods for a growing world population at a time when climate change is also affecting the productivity of land-based food systems.
Conference organisers reported more than 300 voluntary commitments to support ‘Life Under Water’ made by governments, industry and NGO stakeholders. Among these were commitments from Australian Minister for Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek.
Australian commitments
Speaking at the conference, Minister Plibersek promised action to legislate 2030 greenhouse gas targets for Australia, funding of $1.2 billion over 10 years to protect the Great Barrier Reef, improved management of plastics to prevent pollution and a doubling of the Indigenous Rangers Program by 2030.
She said Australia would partner with the Pacific nations to find alternatives to single-use plastic and to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Australia would also continue to support efforts to establish protected marine areas, including in the east Antarctic, and meet an international target of 30% of oceans in marine reserves by 2030.
Dr Russell Reichelt AO attended the conference, supporting Minister Plibersek as the Australian Prime Minister’s ‘sherpa’ and representative on the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.
He attended bilateral meetings held by Minister Plibersek with ministers and leaders of a dozen countries, and the head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Russell’s primary role was to work with ’sherpas’ from the 16 other member countries on the High Level Panel, in developing action plans to be announced at the UN General Assembly in September 2022. He reports a growing focus on multi-national coalitions to integrate action across different sectors such as seafood, energy, transport, tourism and finance, and fast-track efforts to protect the ocean, while developing new opportunities.
Other Australian speakers included Martin Exel, Managing Director of SeaBOS, Jo Kelly, CEO of the Australian Seaweed Institute and Dr Karen Evans, a senior CSIRO researcher who was part of the coordinating team (Group of Experts) and a chapter lead author of the United Nations Second World Ocean Assessment released in 2021.
Industry stewardship
SeaBOS or Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship, is a unique collaboration between scientists from Stockholm Resilience Centre, and CEOs from ten of the world’s largest seafood businesses, who are responsible for 18% of the world’s seafood trade. The organisation was established at the first UN Ocean Conference in 2017, and Martin Exel helped launch the organisation’s first public progress report at the 2022 conference.
The report outlines its members’ commitment to and progress on jointly agreed goals. These include: improving transparency; reducing IUU fishing; listening to science; ending modern slavery; reducing greenhouse gas emissions; reducing plastic use; reducing the use of antibiotics in aquaculture; growing aquaculture; developing and deploying new technology and supporting innovation.
Martin also spoke at several official side events, representing SeaBOS. Sessions focused on building partnerships, public-private investment in the blue economy, ghost gear initiatives, and the launch of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s State of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 report.
He says sustainable aquaculture was strongly promoted during the conference as the key to feeding the world’s growing population, as well as maintaining the health and well-being of humankind and local communities.
Recognition of the importance of ‘blue food’ in overall food systems was welcomed by many delegates. Work on this issue is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization which launched its Blue Transformation - Roadmap 2022–2030.
This was supported by scientific analysis from the Blue Foods Assessment, which highlighted the importance of incorporating blue foods into the overall food system decision-making in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The new Aquatic Blue Food Coalition was also launched at the conference. The coalition includes more than 100 stakeholders from around the world – governments, intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, academic institutions, aquatic food producers, consumer groups, financial institutions and philanthropies.
Martin says discussions during the conference suggested the finance sector was ready to support new and innovative mechanisms to underpin climate resilience, sustainable seafood production and more.
“But much of that finance appeared linked to technological and easily measurable areas of innovation. There seems to be a need for mechanisms to de-risk nature-based solutions, perhaps by governments, to support funding for areas outside of technology and easily ‘measurable’ change.”
Martin also reported growing support for commitment made on developing an internationally binding Treaty on Global Plastic Pollution to help end plastic pollution.
Jo Kelly presented at an official side event, ‘Seaweed: A Revolution to achieve Goal 14 and more’ representing the Safe Seaweed Coalition. She outlined the role for seaweed in protecting and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems and addressing climate change.
Jo says UN Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson wrapped up the session, saying that seaweed was unequivocally part of the solution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change. Oceans will be an essential part of discussions at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt in November 2023.
Ocean literacy
CSIRO researcher Karen Evans took part in several events, including as a panellist for an official side event on ‘Ocean Science and It’s Policy Interface: from Knowledge to Sustainable Ocean Solutions’ hosted by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Karen also provided statements on behalf of the Regular Process (World Ocean Assessment) in the plenary session of the conference and in the Interactive Dialogue “Increasing scientific knowledge and developing research capacity and transfer of marine technology”.
Karen was involved in other discussions around ocean observation, capacity building and ocean literacy in her role as a representative to the UN-DOALOS and co-chair of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Expert Panel on Biology and Ecosystems. The essential need for integrating marine life observations into global ocean models and forecasting models was emphasised numerous times throughout the conference, particularly if such models are to support sustainable provision of food and human livelihoods and wellbeing.
Jas Chambers and Dr Lucy Buxton, respectively the Chair and Director of Ocean Decade Australia attended the conference as observers, noting it as an invaluable experience. Jas Chambers was previously the Australian focal point for the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and co-founded Ocean Decade Australia with Dr Kim Picard and Dr Karen Evans to engage ocean stakeholders in a national conversation about what success for the ocean looks like and how we would measure success by 2030.
Ocean Decade Australia will convene a hybrid event for Australian ocean stakeholders to share perspectives about key issues raised out of the United Nations Ocean Conference, and Australia’s contribution to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14. Further details will be shared in coming weeks.
Ocean Decade Australia will also host the Ocean Business Leaders’ Summit from 1-2 March 2023.
The next United Nations Ocean Conference will be held in 2025, jointly hosted by France and Costa Rica.
FRDC is committed to the health of oceans and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 14, “Life Below Water’.
This is reflected in FRDC R&D Plan, Outcomes 1,2, 3 and 4 and Enabling Strategies II, III and IV.
