Maintaining momentum for the ocean-climate nexus in 2023

The document examines the evolving integration of ocean issues into the UNFCCC climate process, noting a shift from limited recognition in the Paris Agreement to the establishment of the annual Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue. While 2022 saw significant momentum through the 'Super Year of the Ocean' and the BBNJ agreement, the author argues that COP27 outcomes were overly process-oriented and lacked strong language on finance. For COP28, the brief recommends that African stakeholders leverage regional forums and the African Group of Negotiators to shift the global dialogue from knowledge sharing to concrete implementation, utilizing regional successes like the Great Blue Wall and Seychelles' debt-for-nature swap to advocate for increased finance, capacity building, and technology transfer.

• The ocean-climate nexus has historically lacked full recognition in the UNFCCC process, with the term 'ocean' appearing rarely in the founding UNFCCC document and the 2015 Paris Agreement.
• Despite the momentum of 2022's 'Super Year of the Ocean' and the creation of an ocean pavilion at COP27, formal UNFCCC negotiations still lack a dedicated agenda item for the ocean, leaving the issue dependent on the COP presidency's discretion.
• The outcome of COP27 was viewed as disappointing because the final cover decision, the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, removed strong language regarding finance for ocean-climate action in favor of process-oriented changes, such as introducing co-facilitators for the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue.
• African stakeholders can drive the ocean-climate agenda toward concrete action by utilizing the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) to push the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue beyond knowledge sharing toward implementation, specifically regarding finance, capacity-building, and technology transfer.
• Africa has implemented pioneering ocean-climate initiatives that can serve as global models, including the Great Blue Wall initiative and the first debt-for-nature swap for ocean conservation and climate adaptation in Seychelles.
• To maintain momentum for COP28, African stakeholders should integrate the ocean-climate agenda into regional events such as the Africa Climate Week in Nairobi and the Marine Regions Forum in Dar es Salaam, while revising Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to include ambitious ocean-climate actions.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2023). Maintaining momentum for the ocean-climate nexus in 2023. https://saiia.org.za/research/maintaining-momentum-for-the-ocean-climate-nexus-in-2023/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Maintaining momentum for the ocean-climate nexus in 2023. 2023. https://saiia.org.za/research/maintaining-momentum-for-the-ocean-climate-nexus-in-2023/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Maintaining momentum for the ocean-climate nexus in 2023 |date=7 September 2023 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/maintaining-momentum-for-the-ocean-climate-nexus-in-2023/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2023maintaining, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Maintaining momentum for the ocean-climate nexus in 2023}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/maintaining-momentum-for-the-ocean-climate-nexus-in-2023/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }