About the Webinar

The ocean is the life source of our planet and vital for healthy human societies and a thriving world economy.

Building a sustainable ocean economy – one which enables prosperous industries, generates decent jobs, and enhances the global economy while protecting and restoring ocean health - is one of the most important tasks and greatest opportunities of our time. Governments, industries, stakeholders and experts are joining forces to develop and implement ocean solutions around the world, but we need to go further, move faster, and ensure that our actions balance the needs of people, planet and prosperity.

The current COVID-19 crisis brings into sharp focus the interconnected nature of people and the environment, and the imperative to set the ocean economy on a just and sustainable path so as to restore resilience in natural systems, make us less vulnerable to future shocks, and ensure nobody is left behind as we rebuild and reset. It also reinforces the importance of coordinated, and evidence-based, global action to shared challenges.

Wrapping up an exciting two weeks of global dialogues and debates with the ocean community around the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the ocean today, this event will feature reflections from key ocean leaders and experts from the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) on the implications for the road ahead for building a sustainable ocean economy. This event will also present key insights from the latest Blue Paper commissioned by the Ocean Panel “The ocean transition: what to learn from systems transitions”, which explores future transition pathways and policy or other responses that can help encourage a transition to a more sustainable ocean economy.

The Ocean Panel is a unique group of world leaders committed to advancing a new relationship between humanity and the ocean. Within the coming year, the Ocean Panel will present an action agenda, rooted in science and informed by the work of many, to trigger and accelerate action to overcome challenges and deliver real progress towards a sustainable ocean economy in which effective protection, sustainable production and equitable prosperity go hand in hand.

Speakers

  • Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute (Moderator)
  • H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean (Opening Remarks)
  • Mr. Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Special Envoy for the Ocean and Sherpa to Prime Minister Erna Solberg
  • H.E. Ms. Ngedikes Olai Uludong, Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations and Sherpa to President Remengesau Jr. of Palau
  • Hon. Jane Lubchenco, PhD., University Distinguished Professor, Oregon State University and Co-chair Ocean Panel Expert Group
  • Dr. Mary Ruckelshaus, Director, Natural Capital Project and Senior Research Scientist, Stanford University (Blue Paper Co-lead author)

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