From the ‘Blue COP’ to COP26, and the importance to make future COPs bluer

By Alicia Perez-Porro, PhD, GMAP’21

The ocean is a life-support system for Earth, covering 70% of the surface of our planet it is essential to regulate the climate, and a global common that provide us with free goods and services, from the food we eat to the oxygen we breathe. In the last 200 years, the ocean has absorbed a third of the CO2 produced by human activities and 90% of the extra heat trapped by the rising concentration of greenhouse gases. Now the ocean is under existential threat due to anthropogenic climate change, pollution and overfishing. Tipping points are being reached and risk is increasing, namely from acidification, warming and sea-level rise.

Despite its global importance and the critical role that it plays in mitigation and adaption to climate change, the ocean has historically been separated from the climate change conversation, in terms of policy and diplomacy. The ocean made an official appearance in a multilateral climate change forum during COP25 in Madrid. COP25 was called the first ‘blue COP’, to highlight the close links between the health of the climate and the health of the ocean. Right before COP25, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the Special Report on the Ocean and the Cryosphere in a Changing Climate that outlined the impacts of climate change on the ocean and the resulting implications for low-lying areas and coastal communities. Thanks to the efforts of the ocean community, an ocean section found its way into a COP decision text for the first time in history. The language, introduced and championed by Fiji, Indonesia and Costa Rica, finally recognized the important role of the ocean.

“The ocean has historically been separated from the climate change conversation, in terms of policy and diplomacy”

Definitely, COP26 continued the blue path started at COP25, stating clearly the need to continue merging the ocean and the climate change silos. A growing number of countries are looking towards ocean protections; as of November 2021, 37 countries have mentioned at least one ocean element within their NDCs, with some countries moving to include clear protection targets. Although most countries referenced the ocean in their first round of NDCs, only a minority discussed ocean actions as climate solutions. Fewer than 20% of countries with coastal blue carbon ecosystems, for example, discussed their role as carbon sinks. We need to continue pushing for more blue ambition, with more ambitious targets and clear action plans that are inclusive and put ocean-based solutions at the center. For that to happen, it is essential to set up the stage by investing in ocean science, a field were scientific information is still scarce, as to have a solid commitment to stopping ocean degradation, supported by appropriate financial contribution. 

Climate change and ocean change are two sides of the same coin, and we are not going to have a healthy planet without a healthy ocean. Dr. Sylvia Earle said it in the best simple way, “no blue, no green”.