IOC/UNESCO Side Events at the Climate COP28

• Climate Change, Deoxygenation and Biodiversity in the High Seas and Deep Sea: Interactions and Policy Opportunities

09.30-11.00 (GST time) | Blue Zone | Ocean Pavilion

Life in the high seas and deep ocean plays critical but often ignored roles in Earth’s climate, such as carbon storage. The intensifying impacts of climate change, including ocean deoxygenation, as well as some ocean-based climate interventions are now threatening these crucial functions. In this panel, experts will examine oxygen as an indicator of climate change, proposed open ocean-based mitigation, and how biodiversity and climate policy can work together to maintain ocean climate services.

• Earth Information Day 

Blue Zone | Plenary 2

Earth Information Day 2023 will provide a dialogue for exchanging information on the state of the global climate system and developments in systematic observation.It will comprise a plenary session with an opening segment and three panel sections, as well as a World Café (WC) session.

• Ocean Decade 2030: Science, Action and Partnerships for Climate Action through the Ocean Decade

9.30-12.00 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Ocean Pavilion

The event will look across the entire ocean science value chain from observations to data, through to applications and services needed to solve the most pressing climate issues. It will address the enabling environment required to generate and apply robust ocean science and knowledge including issues such as capacity development, partnerships, resource mobilisation and diversity considerations. 

• Blue Carbon in Focus: Shaping Sustainable Futures through a Blue Carbon Policy Forum

14.45-16.00 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Commonwealth Pavilion

This event will bring together government representatives, scientific experts, and NGOs from the Commonwealth nations to discuss the existing gaps and challenges to conserve and restore mangroves, seagrass, and tidal marshes, including at the national policy level.

• Coordinating for greater ocean-based climate change ambition: A UN-Oceans perspective

11.30-13.00 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Side Event Room 7

UN-Oceans entities are coordinating for climate-smart, ecosystem focused and sustainable ocean management and planning. With the Global Stocktake GST and increased ambition in mind, this side event will showcase how UN-Oceans is building synergies at the national and international levels for ocean-based mitigation and adaptation.

• Blue Carbon dialogue

15.00-16.30 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Ocean Decade + OceanX Pavilion

During COP 28 GO-BC (Global Ocean Decade Programme for Blue Carbon – GO-BC, led by Bill Austin from the St. Andrews, UK) together with us IOC, the IAEA, and the Foundation Prince Albert II (Monaco) hosts a Blue Carbon dialogue.

• Rising Seas, Coastal Strategies and Solutions

09.30-10.30 (GST Time) | Climate Ocean Pavilion

This event is organized by the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF) in Egypt and partners, namely IOC/UNESCO, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Ocean Vision, UNDP, and Plymouth.

As our planet faces the consequences of climate change, one of the most pressing challenges we confront is rising sea levels and damaging floods from storm surges. The gradual encroachment of the seas upon our coastlines threatens coastal communities, ecosystems, and economies around the world. In the face of this imminent threat, innovative strategies and solutions are emerging to mitigate the impacts of rising seas. This session provides an opportunity to engage and discuss recent sea level-related hazard impacts, challenges, and resilient strategies and solutions.

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• Ocean Literacy and Strategic Communications to Address Challenge 10

15.00-16.30 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Ocean Decade + OceanX Pavilion

Challenge 10 of the Ocean Decade seeks to change humanity’s relationship with the ocean. Both ocean literacy and strategic communications have a vital role to play in creating the behavioural change needed to achieve meaningful ocean climate action. Despite this, the two communities and disciplines are often separated. Both ocean literacy and communications approaches have evolved significantly in recent years. This dialogue will offer an exciting opportunity to bring together global experts from strategic communications, ocean literacy, media and wider storytelling, to increase synergies and drive forward progress towards challenge 10.

The focus of the dialogue is developing an understanding of what tools, resources and infrastructure are required by ocean literacy and communications practitioners to ensure challenge 10 is achieved. This event will delve directly into:

• generating feedback on the challenge 10 communications key actions;
• informing the design of the ‘Advancing Ocean Strategic Communication’ project which will provide resources for ocean communicators and
• creating synergies with the Blue Curriculum goal of UNESCO for a blue education that involves formal education and local communities engagement.

• In support of OA Action: Leveraging UN Mechanisms for Local OA Adaptation and Resilience

16.15-17.45 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Commonwealth Pavilion

The event will illuminate key information and science capacity gaps alongside the policy, management, and financing needed to respond to OA and it’s impacts. Panel one will discuss how UNFCCC and UN mechanisms may be better leveraged to provide direction and support the needs of governments. Panel two will showcase examples of OA Action taking, including through international, region and local collaborations to identify data and evidence needs for OA mitigation and adaptation.

• Ocean-Climate Nexus: educating the next generations of leaders

11.00-12.00 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Ocean Pavilion

Climate action necessitates collaborative efforts with science-based solutions. Both scientific advancements, in conjunction with diverse knowledge systems, and the utilization of science by stakeholders are pivotal. We will illustrate the role of ocean literacy by integrating local initiatives with global challenges through Blue Schools. This initiative engages various stakeholders fostering voices for sustainable development while highlighting the significance of diversity, equity and inclusion.

• Blue Carbon Coastal Wetlands in Climate Action: Taking Stock of Nature-Based Solutions in Practice

18.30-19.30 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Side Event Room 6

This event is part of the COP28 Side Events and Exhibits. It will showcase lessons learnt in implementing and updating countries’ commitments for the conservation and restoration and protection of coastal mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh ecosystems, within national and subnational climate action supported by global partnerships.

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• We are Ocean' Fishbowl

15.00-17.00 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | Ocean Decade + OceanX Pavilion

Based on ARTPORT_making waves´endorsed WE ARE OCEAN Global Program project contributing to the Ocean Decade – which focuses on the interdisciplinary approach bringing together art, science and informal education to enhance among young people worldwide the understanding of the ocean and all related challenges as well as possible solutions – this event will be an open fishbowl discussion and video screening. The question that will be discussed: “How can contemporary artists together with scientists, educators, and young people co-create something powerful which leads to behaviour change and addresses solutions for a healthy ocean?”

• Scaling up the ambition on Blue Carbon

16.30-18.00 (GST Time) | Blue Zone | French Pavilion

As blue carbon ecosystems are critical component of nature-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate-change while addressing the triple planetary crisis, it requires to ensure that synergies are found between science, finance, and policies. The IPBC, thanks to its broad range of partners, allows a dialogue between these different levels to accelerate the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems, by sharing best practices. Building on this, the High Level Ambition Group will discuss what countries do and share examples of their ambition on blue carbon action.

• Blue Schools: a global movement for ocean-climate education 

16.30-17.30 (GST Time) | Green Zone | Greening Education Pavilion

This session will integrate a discussion of educational practices by blue schools and the global movement led by UNESCO for policy making for a Blue Curriculum. This event aims to foster a deeper understanding of these critical issues and promote collaboration towards a more sustainable future linked to the Blue Curriculum proposal led by UNESCO for the national processes and policy making to include ocean literacy and the interconnected discussions on climate change and conservation in the national curriculums.

With this session we expect to disseminate the best practices learned from the 16 countries from the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network and engage different educational sectors worldwide, from Ministries of Education to NGO, private sector and other stakeholders and strength the network on groups working on ocean-climate nexus.