The ocean, spanning over 70% of Earth’s surface, is a cornerstone of the planet’s climate system. It absorbs vast amounts of carbon dioxide and heat, softening the blow of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, it is also a victim of climate change, grappling with rising sea levels, acidification, and intensifying storms. Over the decades, as the world has wrestled with the climate crisis, the ocean’s role in adaptation—helping ecosystems and communities cope with these changes—has emerged as a vital narrative. This blog traces the ocean’s journey within climate change talks, spotlighting major events, key Conferences of the Parties (COPs) and subsequent decisions, and the evolution of ocean-focused adaptation strategies, while reflecting on where we stand today.
The Beginning: Climate Talks Take Shape
The story starts in 1992 with the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a global pact to tackle rising greenhouse gas levels. The first COP, held in Berlin in 1995, laid the groundwork for stronger action, culminating in the Kyoto Protocol at COP3 in 1997. Focused on cutting emissions in developed nations, the Kyoto Protocol lacked ocean focus. In these early years, climate discussions centered on mitigation—reducing emissions—while adaptation, and ocean action, remained in the shadows. Even so, the ocean’s significance was undeniable. Scientists noted it absorbed about 90% of the heat generated by rising greenhouse gas emissions since the 1970s and 30% of carbon emissions since 1750, a fact that hinted at its critical role in climate regulation. But formal recognition within climate negotiations was still years away.
Yet, the ocean wasn’t without a framework. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982 and effective from 1994, had already set the stage. UNCLOS codified maritime boundaries, resource rights, and duties to protect the marine environment—rules that quietly underpinned later climate adaptation efforts. It gave nations jurisdiction over coastal waters (up to 200 nautical miles via Exclusive Economic Zones) and a mandate to manage marine resources sustainably, laying a legal bedrock for tackling climate-driven ocean challenges.
A Gradual Awakening: The Ocean Enters the Climate Conversation
The tide began to turn in 2010 at COP16 in Cancun. Here, nations pledged to keep global temperature rises well below 2°C and launched the Green Climate Fund to aid developing countries with mitigation and adaptation. Though the ocean wasn’t explicitly mentioned, its relevance was implied—coastal communities and marine ecosystems were already feeling climate pressures like sea-level rise and drops and shifts in fish stocks.
The breakthrough came in 2015 at COP21 in Paris, where the Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 parties. Its primary goal is to keep the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. For the first time, the Agreement explicitly called for protecting the “integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans,” marking a pivotal shift in recognizing the essential role of marine environments in climate resilience and adaptation. This momentum persisted at COP22, in 2016, with the adoption of the Marrakech Partnership, which included the ocean as one of the priority themes of the Global Climate Action Agenda (GCA).
A Milestone Moment: The Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue is Established
It wasn’t until 2019 at COP25 in Madrid that the ocean earned a formal seat at the climate table. Dubbed the “Blue COP,” it marked the moment when the UNFCCC negotiations officially acknowledged the ocean’s dual role as a climate victim and solution. This shift didn’t happen overnight—it was the culmination of decades of advocacy from activist groups which tirelessly championed ocean issues. The release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which took place earlier the same year, significantly contributed to the prevalent ocean focus during COP25 resulting in the creation of the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue. The Dialogue had the mandate “to consider how to strengthen mitigation and adaptation action in this context” and has become the main entry point for fostering international cooperation to support the integration and implementation of ocean-based action for both adaptation and mitigation.
The momentum carried forward and at COP26 in Glasgow, 2021, the Glasgow Climate Pact reinforced the need to protect marine ecosystems and boosted support for ocean-based adaptation. COP26 further decided to make the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue an annual meeting held under the aegis of the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) starting in June 2022. At COP27, Parties welcomed the conclusions of the 2022 Dialogue and clarified the modalities and process of the Dialogue moving forward. It was decided that future dialogues would be facilitated by two co-facilitators, selected by Parties biennially, who will be responsible for deciding the topics for and conducting the dialogue, in consultation with Parties and Non-Party Stakeholders (NPS), and responsible for preparing an informal summary report to be presented at subsequent COPs.
The Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue has become a crucial platform for exchanging knowledge, highlighting efforts, and enhancing collective ocean-based climate action. The outcome of the first Global Stock Take (GST) welcomed the outcomes of and the informal summary report of the 2023 dialogue and encouraged further strengthening of ocean-based action where appropriate. The dialogue further presents an opportunity to discuss existing UNFCCC agenda items as they relate to the ocean aligning with the COP26 Glasgow Pact that “invites the relevant work programmes and constituted bodies under the UNFCCC to consider how to integrate and strengthen ocean-based action in their existing mandates and workplans and to report on these activities within the existing reporting processes”.
Ocean Adaptation in Focus
Adaptation for the ocean is about resilience—bracing for rising seas, warmer waters, and fiercer storms. It’s here that the ocean shines as a solution provider. Mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs act as natural shields, guarding coasts from erosion and surges while soaking up carbon. Restoring them is a dual win for adaptation and mitigation.
This focus on adaptation didn’t spring up overnight—it’s a story that took root in Paris. Amid the fanfare of the Paris Agreement’s temperature targets, a quieter revolution brewed in Article 7, birthing the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) in 2015. The GGA was a response to a stark truth: cutting emissions wouldn’t stop the climate impacts already underway. It called for enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability worldwide, with vulnerable ecosystems like oceans at its heart. Driven by the pleas of small island developing states (SIDS) and coastal communities—whose homes were flooding and fisheries vanishing—the GGA became a global vow to act before it’s too late.
Fast forward to COP28 in Dubai (2023), countries adopted the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience (UAE FGCR), welcoming agreement on the definition and measurement of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). The framework sets out 11 targets to guide the measurement of progress toward the GGA—four of them addressing the iterative adaptation cycle and seven thematic targets. This was a key milestone following eight years of lengthy negotiation and the GGA finally had an organized structure to shape the quantification of adaptation for the 2026 second Global Stock Take. Yet one final and critical challenge remained on how to effectively monitor and quantify this progress. To tackle this, the UAE-Belém Work Programme was launched as a two-year initiative to establish indicators that would enable countries to measure adaptation, enhance monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems, and ultimately inform global adaptation action.
The same year, the first treaty to address governance of the high and open ocean was concluded. The BBNJ agreement (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction), is the third implementing instrument under UNCLOS. This treaty aims to protect marine biodiversity in the high seas—waters beyond national jurisdiction—through MPAs and sustainable practices. It’s a game-changer for climate adaptation, ensuring the ocean’s vast, lawless expanses contribute to climate resilience, complementing coastal efforts tracked by the UAE Work Programme.
The UAE Belem Work Programme is currently in full swing. Experts are working on the refinement of these indicators, with workshops planned through 2025 to finalize them at COP30. For the ocean, this means metrics to gauge community resilience, reef recovery, coastal protection, and funding flows—vital data to guide action. But it’s not smooth sailing: crafting universal yet flexible indicators are tough, and funding remains a chokehold, with ocean projects obtaining less than 2% of global adaptation finance.
Where We Stand: A Call to Rise
The ocean’s climate negotiation experience started in the background. It was barely discussed for years. Then came the Paris Agreement, the Blue COP, and now the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and the UAE-Belém Work Programme. The ocean is no longer an afterthought—it’s at the forefront of climate adaptation. But as we look to COP30 in 2025, we have a choice to make: step up or fall back.
The ocean has been our silent protector, absorbing heat, storing carbon, and shielding our coastlines. But it can no longer do so alone. It needs action. Coastal communities need investment. Ocean-based adaptation must become a priority. Marine ecosystems need to be protected. The Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue is a chance to turn that into a reality—a forum to push ocean action higher up the climate agenda. To amplify Africa’s voice and perspectives in this conversation, AGNES, in collaboration with IOCAFRICA, is hosting a virtual workshop. Experts, practitioners, negotiators, and decision makers will come together to shape an African submission at the Ocean Dialogue Informal Exchange of Views—an opportunity to drive ambitious action and ensure the high profile of ocean issues in UN climate negotiations.