Present

The conference is designed to be highly interactive with a mix of session types such as plenaries, lightning presentations, posters, and other networking interactions. The conference is structured around five core topical tracks, which will be addressed through half-day sessions. The tracks are:

• Ocean-Based Contributions to Global Decarbonization: The world is in a race to reduce and eliminate CO2 emissions from modern life. The ocean has an important contribution to make in the production of low or zero carbon energy, food, transport and materials. This track will focus on these dimensions of ocean-based decarbonization. Keynote speakers will talk about the opportunities for ocean-based decarbonization, current state of play and the challenges and obstacles. This track will highlight not only the state of the latest technology and innovation but will also include discussions on the political, financial and social aspects of this solutions landscape.

• Ocean-Based Contributions to Carbon Dioxide Removal: To stop the impacts of climate change on Earth’s ecosystems, including marine ecosystems, we will need to reverse the climb of carbon dioxide pollution by developing methods to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while work continues in many sectors to stop emitting it. This track will feature the latest innovations from practitioners building ocean-based pathways to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as well as those working to build sound and inclusive governance systems and robust monitoring frameworks to ensure that ocean-based carbon dioxide removal develops in a responsible and equitable manner.

• Ocean Ecosystem Repair and Regeneration: While the world is in a race to reduce emissions of CO2 and clean-up legacy pollution, critical components of the ocean-climate system, such as Arctic sea ice, coral reefs, and continental ice sheets are at risk of reaching critical levels of loss of function that may lead to rapid and sometimes irreversible changes. This session will explore the urgent need to identify, assess, and evaluate a wide range of interventions potentially capable of prolonging and/or regenerating the function of these systems. This session on “conservation tools in a time of overshoot” will begin with provocative scene-setting talks, include deeper dives into some of the technological interventions being tested for coral reefs, look at specific technologies like marine cloud brightening, and explore related ethical and social issues.

• Human Adaptation to a Changing Ocean: Coastal communities around the world are facing the realities of a changing climate ranging from sea level rise to more intense extreme weather events. This track will explore the advance the array of responses necessary to support human adaptation to a changing ocean, such as managed retreat, reinventing coastal ocean livelihoods, building coastal resilience to dangerous events, adaptation to sea level rise, and habitat/species restoration/rewilding.  

• Building a Global Community of Solvers at the Ocean-Climate Nexus: This track will explore the social, technological technical, and economic innovations and solutions required to build a global community of solvers at the ocean climate nexus. Experts from public and private industries will discuss various topics including, but not limited to; breaking down barriers, generating a unified community, utilizing data to support sustainable solutions, and leveraging digital platforms to build communities.