Our Ocean Conference Must Confront Fossil Fuels

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, must address the root cause of ocean degradation by confronting the expansion of offshore oil and gas and rejecting speculative marine geoengineering technologies.

• The authors contend that ocean governance has historically ignored the root cause of climate impacts—the production and use of oil, gas, and coal—despite the fact that the majority of new oil and gas projects discovered, sanctioned, and started in 2024 were located in the ocean.
• The document highlights that offshore oil and gas expansion continues in Africa, specifically mentioning resistance from communities in the Niger Delta, Cabo Delgado, and South Africa's coastal areas.
• CIEL asserts that states have binding legal duties, as clarified by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the International Court of Justice, to prevent climate harm and protect the marine environment, which necessitates halting new offshore expansion.
• The statement warns against marine geoengineering—including ocean alkalinity enhancement, ocean fertilization, biomass sinking, marine cloud brightening, and ice thickening—stating these could utilize up to 20% of the ocean's surface and risk irreversible impacts.
• The authors call for specific commitments at the Our Ocean Conference, including ending public finance and subsidies for offshore expansion, halting new licensing and drilling, and requiring operators to fully fund decommissioning and cleanup.

APA

Campos, B., Eddy, N., & Colón-Amil, A. (2026). Our Ocean Conference Must Confront Fossil Fuels. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/our-ocean-conference-must-confront-fossil-fuels/

Chicago

Campos, Bruna, Nathalie Eddy, and Alexandra Colón-Amil. Our Ocean Conference Must Confront Fossil Fuels. Center for International Environmental Law, 2026. https://www.ciel.org/our-ocean-conference-must-confront-fossil-fuels/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Campos |first1=Bruna |last2=Eddy |first2=Nathalie |last3=Colón-Amil |first3=Alexandra |title=Our Ocean Conference Must Confront Fossil Fuels |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=12 June 2026 |url=https://www.ciel.org/our-ocean-conference-must-confront-fossil-fuels/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{campos2026our, author = {Campos, Bruna and Eddy, Nathalie and Colón-Amil, Alexandra}, title = {{Our Ocean Conference Must Confront Fossil Fuels}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ciel.org/our-ocean-conference-must-confront-fossil-fuels/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }