Summary report, video, and UNFCCC article on the outcomes of the ocean and climate change dialogue 2022

Key messages (and illustrated):

1. We must protect our ocean AND value its potential as a place for sustainable climate solutions and action

2. Ocean-based measures offer significant mitigation and adaptation options

3. The ocean offers a space for integrated solutions that can be reflected in national climate policies and strategies

4. Marine technology and marine and coastal nature-based solutions should be integrated to ensure that action is more robust, comprehensive and cost-effective than when using either solution alone

5. We must use, improve and integrate the latest available ocean science and other knowledge systems

6. A whole of society approach is needed for ocean - climate action, including to address governance aspects

7. Funding for ocean-climate action needs to increase and access to funding must be supported

8. Strengthened finance and other support, including capacity building, must embrace complexity to provide innovative and multidisciplinary solutions

9. A framework for collaborative efforts across UN Processes would increase institutional support for ocean-climate action

10. Future ocean and climate change dialogues should focus on distinct topics to deep-dive into specific solutions that strategically supports and strengthens ocean-climate action at national level and under the UNFCCC process

The Conference of the Parties at COP 26, by its decision 1/CP.26 paragraph 61, invited the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) to convene at its fifty-sixth session (June 2022), and subsequently annually, a dialogue on the ocean and climate change to consider how to strengthen ocean-based action on climate change. The SBSTA Chair invited Parties and non-Party stakeholders to submit inputs via the submission portal to inform the dialogue. The COP requested the Chair of the SBSTA to prepare an informal summary report on each annual dialogue.

The dialogue began with high level statements and explored two topics through moderated panels:

1. Strengthening and integrating national ocean climate action under the Paris Agreement
2. Enabling ocean climate solutions and optimising institutional connections

For each panel, panelists provided 3 minute deep-dives into their respective topics. The moderator took interventions and Q&A from Parties and non-Party stakeholders based on the guiding questions.

Panel 1

1. What are the good practices by both Parties and Non-Party stakeholders for strengthening ocean-climate action at national level, including in NDCs? What are the challenges?
2. How could Parties' overcome challenges and strengthen ocean and climate action at country level to enable sustainable livelihoods, including through NDCs and NAPs ?
3. What further information is needed in your country to implement ocean-climate action?
4. What can be accomplished next at national and international level to enable stronger ocean-climate action?

Panel 2

1. What are current and innovative options for ocean climate solutions and how can they be improved, including funding and financing, technology, capacity building and science?
2. How can UN and international processes support Parties’ ocean climate action and invoke synergies across processes?
3. What can be accomplished next at national and international level to enable stronger ocean-climate action?

Participants in the room and those watching the webcast could respond to the guiding questions in written format through mentimeter. All points of view were gathered together, alongside spoken interventions and Q&A, for inclusion in the SBSTA chair's upcoming summary report of the event.

Responses to guiding questions on mentimeter for Panel 1 and Panel 2

Artist's summary of the dialogue:

UNFCCC news article on the dialogue

Photos from the Dialogue:

Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth
Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth
Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth	Credit: IISD | Kiara Worth

Outline agenda