COP30 Ocean Pavilion wrap-up

No matter what anyone says about the shortcomings of this year’s UN climate conference of the parties (COP30), it was a memorable two weeks for the Ocean Pavilion and for the ocean in general. Through the turmoil stirred up by fire, flood, and logistical chaos, the Ocean Pavilion stood out as a place of focus and resolve that put the ocean into sharp focus at the center of climate action. Throughout COP30, three top-line messages emerged from the Ocean Pavilion community. First, the ocean has finally moved from the margins to the mandates of climate action. Ocean considerations are now woven into national climate strategies, ministerial interventions, and global action on mitigation and adaptation at every level of society, and this momentum will almost certainly carry well beyond Belém. Second, ocean-based climate solutions are increasingly viewed as essential components of national climate plans, also known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Countries are recognizing that their long-term climate plans are incomplete without robust and sincere consideration of the ocean’s role in the success of these plans. This is especially important for small island developing states (SIDs), least-developed countries (LDCs), and vulnerable coastal communities whose futures are deeply intertwined with such things as mangrove restoration, coral reef protection, sustainable fisheries, and technology transfer. Third, the next frontier of ambition for the richest countries lies in committing to equity, capacity development, and access to information about the state of the ocean. The challenge before us all is not a lack of ocean science but in ensuring that all nations, especially the most climate-vulnerable people, have the resources and agency to apply the information the developed world has already generated, and that they themselves will increasingly generate.