France, the UNFCCC secretariat and the Ocean and Climate Platform hosted a joint event during the United Nations Ocean Conference on translating science into ocean-based action on climate change to 'Blue' the Paris Agreement. Co-hosting partners included the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Ocean Conservancy.

The event highlighted the vital role the ocean plays in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, and explored how the ocean can be protected while also acting as a solution space for ocean-based climate action on mitigation and adaptation. Experts discussed the current opportunities and enablers for action as well as what can be done to enhance international collaboration and decision making on the ocean and climate change.

Roundtable guiding topics:

• Scaling-up ocean-based climate solutions to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement:
  • Coastal and marine ecosystems; fisheries and aquaculture; shipping; marine renewable energy.
•  Opportunities to scale-up action:
  • Parties: How to bridge decision-making on the ocean and climate change?
  • Non State Actors: What options and innovative solutions for financing ocean-climate action?
  • United Nations: How to build synergies across the UN system?