Assessing 10 Years of International Commitments to Sustainable Ocean Action: A Global Stocktake of the Our Ocean Conference
This working paper presents the first global assessment of more than 2600 voluntary commitments to ocean action, associated with the international Our Ocean Conference. It analyses implementation progress and financial delivery, disaggregated by thematic, spatial, temporal and sectoral dimensions over 10 years. It presents policy recommendations to strengthen the immediate and strategic outcomes of the Our Ocean Conference and provides a baseline assessment of commitment progress to strengthen global ocean accountability and transparency.
Since 2014, the Our Ocean Conference (OOC) has emerged as a key forum to mobilize sustainable ocean action and resources through voluntary commitments across six action areas: the ocean-climate nexus, marine protected areas (MPAs), sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, the sustainable blue economy, and maritime security.
From 2014 to 2024, the conference generated 2,618 commitments to ocean action, equivalent to US$160 billion in pledged funds.
This working paper analyzes, for the first time, the overall implementation progress of all commitments. As of January 2025, approximately 1,130 commitments had been completed (43 percent), 1,005 were in progress (38 percent), and 483 (18 percent) had not been started. The OOCs have mobilized $133.4 billion for ocean action, comprising $23.8 billion in delivered funds from completed commitments and $109.6 billion for commitments under implementation. Most pledged finance (54 percent) is allocated to ocean-climate action.
This report includes recommendations for future OOCs to further ocean progress. This includes further efforts to engage the private sector and academia, broaden geographic engagement, and encourage commitments that engage and address the needs of small island developing states, least developed countries, youth, women, and Indigenous and local communities.
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