To Make Oceans a Climate Priority, Advocates Look Beyond COP29
Marine issues are receiving little attention at the United Nations conference, so ocean activists are aiming to include measures in countries’ official green targets.
A shark swims near Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Photographer: Johis Alarcon/BloombergAs the world’s largest carbon sink, the ocean is a crucial bulwark against runaway global warming, yet marine issues usually receive scant consideration at the annual United Nations climate summit. While observers don’t expect a breakthrough in Baku at COP29, ocean solutions are slowly getting on the agenda.
COP26 established the “Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue,” an annual meeting convened before the climate summit to discuss marine issues. The co-facilitators of this year’s dialogue, held in June in Bonn, were allotted three minutes to present their report on the opening day of the Baku conference.