Convened under the auspices of the United Nations and co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, the 2022 UN Ocean Conference was held from 27 June – 1st July 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal.
- The conference was held to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.
- The overarching theme of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference was “Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions”.
- The world leaders called for greater ambition to ensure that the dire state of the ocean is addressed, and admitted frankly to being “deeply alarmed by the global emergency facing the ocean”.
- At the conference, more than 150 Member States made voluntary commitments to conserve or protect at least 30 percent of the global ocean within Marine Protected Areas, and other effective area-based conservation measures, by 2030.
- India committed to a Coastal Clean Seas Campaign and will work toward a ban on single use plastics.
- In 2017, first UNOC was held at UN Headquarters in New York, co-hosted by the Governments of Fiji and Sweden.
About Ocean
- The ocean covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, is the planet’s largest biosphere, and is home to up to 80 percent of all life in the world.
- It generates 50 percent of the oxygen we need, absorbs 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90 percent of the additional heat generated from those emissions.
- It is not just ‘the lungs of the planet’ but also its largest carbon sink – a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change.
- It nurtures unimaginable biodiversity and produces food, jobs, mineral and energy resources needed for life on the planet to survive and thrive.
- There is a great deal we still do not know about the ocean but there are many reasons why we need to manage it sustainably – as set out in the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.
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