Lisbon was heaving with ocean aficionados who had come from all over the world to be part of United Nations Ocean Conference. It’s an extremely important event that discussed climate action and the blue economy. Co-hosted by the governments of Kenya and Portugal, the UNCC addressed various societal problems while seeking solutions that are deep-rooted in the Sustainable Development Goals, such as mobilizing action and creating science-based innovative solutions for ocean action.
The UN Ocean Conference Youth and Innovation Forum in Cascais mobilized youth from various parts of the world to work on ocean solutions under specific mentorship programs. This unique workshop was spearheaded by António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations; Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean; the president of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; Uhuru Kenyatta from Kenya; Sanda Ojaiambo, the Assistant Secretary-General and CEO of the United Nations Global Compact, as well as Jason Momoa.
The Forum included an “Innovathon,” where teams of five participants worked together to create and propose new ocean solutions. Deep sea mining, invasive species, eco-tourism and sustainable fishing were explored with the winners receiving $15,000 to jumpstart their solutions. From the sustainability angle, for the ocean flag project, we got commitments on old fabrics that would have ended up in landfills. The commitments spoke to ocean advocacy and literacy.
Fashion as a sector was broached upon by Peter Thomson, who addressed how the industry needed to rethink alternatives to plastic packaging when it came to marine pollution. “Without drastic action, plastic could outweigh all the fish in the ocean by 2050,” A. Guterres warned. With about 11 million tons of plastic dumped every year into the ocean, plastics and investments in plastic recycling was a pledge by all countries that were a part of the UN Ocean Conference. Phasing out single use plastics and investing in alternatives could be the future in terms of circularity and sustainability.
In addition, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry called on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt a revised greenhouse gas strategy that includes the goals of zero emission no later than 2050 with an interim goal by 2030.
All heads of state stressed education to help engage the general public and youth for the future of the oceans.
I had the pleasure of showcasing a collection that was printed using seaweed at the official event of the UNOC, which was supported by the United Nations Global Compact and The Safe Seaweed Coalition. The collection revived an ancient and indigenous technique that had existed in 12th Century Japan, which negated water wastage and pollution by using seaweed as an agent.
“Our ocean, our future, our responsibility” emphasized that sense of urgency, recalling the need to act fast and across sectors, and highlighting the science-based and innovative areas of action to support the implementation of Goal 14. President Macron attended in-person to offer to co-host, jointly with Costa Rica, the next UN Ocean Conference in France in 2025 – as we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
At the Friends for Ocean meet, we had stake holders from the shipping and fishing industry, small island developing countries, heads of states, non-profits, artists, educational enterprises and the youth, discussing ocean sustainability and harvesting its fruits in an appropriate fashion which could benefit coastal communities, fisheries and look into investments which called for renewable energy.
UNOC 2022 definitely garnered great interest since its postponed event in 2020 due to Covid. It was stronger, bigger and unified.
The UNOC 2022 did not fail to engage one across various topics which held in focus the oceans but also our march towards net zero 2050.
