Experts and policymakers explore how ocean-based activities can contribute to efforts to limit emissions that contribute to global temperature increase.

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2019 High Level Panel on Oceans Report Launch

About the event

The ocean has taken the brunt of human-made climate change, absorbing 93% of heat trapped by rising greenhouse gas emissions and taking up 30% of our carbon emissions. But while climate change is having a devastating effect on our coastal communities, coral reefs and sea life, new research shows the ocean can also be a source of innovation and hope in the climate change flight.

Join us for a presentation of the report The Ocean as a Solution for Climate Change: 5 Opportunities for Action, which will show that the ocean and coastal regions can play a much bigger role in shrinking the world's carbon footprint and limiting global temperature rise than previously realized. The report was prepared by leading experts in support of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (HLP). The HLP is an ambitious effort led by 14 serving heads of government committed to catalyzing bold, pragmatic solutions for ocean health and wealth that support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build a better future for people and the planet.

This landmark report comes at the same time as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which will highlight major threats to the ocean from climate change such as declining fish stocks, rising sea levels and increasing ocean acidification. But rather than being a passive victim of the climate crisis, The Ocean as a Solution for Climate Change demonstrates that the ocean is ripe with opportunities to reduce carbon pollution including installing offshore wind turbines, expanding the use of floating wind and solar facilities, decarbonizing the shipping industry, protecting and restoring mangroves and seagrasses, shifting diets to sustainable marine sources, and exploring carbon storage potential under the seabed.

Authors of the report will discuss the findings and explore policies and innovations that would advance these ocean-based strategies.

Featured speakers:

  • Ambassador Kåre Aas, Norway Ambassador to the United States
  • Ambassador Alfonso Silva Navarro, Chile Ambassador to the United States
  • Dr. Peter Haugan, Programme Director, Institute of Marine Research; Past Chair of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
  • Dr. Steve Gaines, Dean & Distinguished Professor, University of California Santa Barbara
  • Dr. Manaswita Konar, Ocean Economist, World Resources Institute

Co-hosted by WRI and the Embassies of Chile, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, and Palau

This event is in support of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. To learn more, please visit www.oceanpanel.org.

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