The ocean took centre stage at a high-level dialogue organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the UK Government during London Climate Action Week, with influential voices calling for all climate change negotiations to include the ocean commitments and outcomes as a matter of urgency.
The dialogue, Riding the Wave: Ocean-Climate from Mombasa to Antalya, built on the recent Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Roundtable, and the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, in the lead up to the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda, and UNFCCC COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye – both to be held in November.
This dialogue, which set the scene for an ambitious COP31 with the ocean-climate change nexus at its heart, was attended by three consecutive UNFCCC COP presidencies, namely Azerbaijan, Brazil, and Türkiye and Australia-Pacific; the US Secretary of State John Kerry; Ministers, leading international financiers, and other change makers.
In her opening remarks, Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Botchwey, highlighted the costs of the ocean emergency and called for action. She said:
“The ocean is absorbing the costs of a warming planet at a rate that is economically, environmentally and politically unsustainable. For the Commonwealth, this is urgent.
“Forty-nine of our 56 members have coastlines, and 25 of our members are large ocean states, for whom the ocean is not a sector of the economy, but the foundation of national life. That gives the Commonwealth both a profound responsibility and a distinctive advantage.”
As co-host, Emma Hardy MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Flooding at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the United Kingdom, joined the Secretary-General in welcoming the room of experts, reflecting on the significance of the moment set before the room.
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Secretary John Kerry delivered a keynote address on the opportunity COP31 presents but also demands of the leaders in the room and the momentum that has been building to achieve it.
In his address, Ruel Yamuna, Pacific COP31 Access to Finance Envoy, Papua New Guinea, focused on the impact of climate change on the peoples of the Pacific and the urgent need for action and implementation.
The Secretary-General set three priorities for participants: Integration, delivery and justice.
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Ocean action must sit at the heart of climate policy, national plans and the COP process — not at the margins. The science, diplomacy and finance must move together.
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Clearer pathways from commitments to investable projects: stronger policy frameworks, project preparation, technical capacity and instruments that share risk fairly.
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Large ocean states are protecting environmental assets of global value while facing some of the highest costs of from climate change. The vulnerability and environmental stewardship of these countries must be recognised in accessing finance.
Ruth Davis OBE, UK Government Envoy for Nature and Suresh Yadav, Senior Director, Climate Change and Oceans Directorate, Commonwealth Secretariat, co-chaired the discussions.
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