Friends of the Ocean and Climate

Joint Statement on the occasion of COP29

23 November 2024

The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that:

  • It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land;
  • Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred;
  • Every increment of global warming will intensify multiple and concurrent hazards;
  • Adaptation solutions implemented at appropriate scales, when combined with ambitious and urgent mitigation measures, can meaningfully reduce impacts;
  • Some future changes are unavoidable and/or irreversible but can be limited by deep, rapid, and sustained global greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

On the occasion of COP29, we, the Friends of the Ocean and Climate:

  • Note with grave concern the adverse and widespread impacts of the global climate crisis on the ocean and its ecosystems;
  • reaffirm our steadfast commitment to promoting the ocean-climate nexus at the UN Climate Change Conferences and utilizing sustainable ocean-based mitigation and adaptation actions that protect the integrity of all ecosystems in accordance with the best available science;
  • affirm the importance of the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue, highlight the key messages from the informal summary reports of 2023 and 2024 as important considerations for future actions, and commend the co-facilitators for their leadership;
  • note the importance and the urgency of finance for mitigation and adaptation activities that support sustainable ocean-based climate action to achieve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement, including for developing countries, in particular SIDS and LDCs; and
  • acknowledge the critical role and traditional knowledges of Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities as stewards of nature, and of all women and young people and the importance of their full, equal, and meaningful participation and leadership in planning, designing, and implementing ocean-based climate action that protects the integrity of all ecosystems.

Together we can align efforts to safeguard ocean and coastal communities and ecosystems, and our collective future.

Parties Supporting:

  • The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN)
  • The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • The European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden)
  • Indonesia
  • Monaco
  • Norway
  • United Kingdom
  • United States