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EuroGOOS attended the Ocean Days at the UNFCCC’s 21st Conference of the Parties, COP21, in Paris. The COP21 Ocean Days aimed at raising awareness among the general public, policymakers and economic actors of the major role of the ocean in climate change.
The marine science and oceanography community is united around an obvious fact – the ocean is key in the Earth’s climate regulation. Ocean observing, forecasting and modelling are prerequisites to obtain the data and information needed for the societal and policy response to climate change. However, the ocean was absent at the COP political agenda.
EuroGOOS was represented at two high-level events of the Ocean Days with the ambition to:
- Raise visibility of ocean in support of other EU and international initiatives, think tanks and NGOs.
- Raise visibility of ocean observing and in particular EuroGOOS as playing a key coordination role in Europe.
On this occassion, EuroGOOS office published a flyer which was disseminated at the exhibition areas and handed to European Commissioner on Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella.
Ocean and Climate Forum on 3 December brought together politicians, scientists, as well as representatives of the youth and business sector around the topic of the importance of the ocean in the climate negotiations. The event programme is available here. IOC coverage of the event is available here.
Oceans Day at COP on 4 December emphasized the political leadership and global action to address ocean and climate science, notably by developing a five-year strategic plan. Conference programme is available here. Summary report is available here.
Both events delivered concrete recommendations which were presented in the COP21 political negotiations zone on 7 December.
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