 Welcome, everyone, to this virtual ocean dialogue on ocean-based climate solutions. My name is Elizabeth Cousins, and I'm the President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. And I'm honored and delighted to be with you today to moderate what I know will be a very inspiring and thought-provoking discussion. The UN Foundation's mission is to work with the UN and its partners to help build a better world. We focus on issues at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals, build initiatives across sectors to solve problems at scale, and engage influencers, citizens, and stakeholders who are committed to action on these critical issues we all face. Over the past few years, we've especially been working at the intersection of ocean and climate issues, and it is so exciting to be here with so many kindred spirits. Well, as was the case last year, the ocean community finds itself in 2021, again with a gap in the political calendar, with the UN Ocean Conference now rescheduled to 2022. The Friends of Ocean Action and the World Economic Forum are helping fill this gap by hosting virtual ocean dialogues as a moment for the global community to come together to keep the ocean high on the agenda, and continue to build momentum around critical ocean issues. So this year, the virtual ocean dialogues are focused on the importance of the ocean to critical multilateral milestones ahead, including the UN Food Systems Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the G7, the G20, as well as, of course, COP26. The ocean is critical to the solutions we need in all of these areas, and these dialogues are designed to help identify where stakeholders from around the world can help make the ocean a prominent part of all of these efforts. In this session, we're focusing on the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, as we all know taking place in Glasgow later this year. We know that the ocean and climate are inextricably linked. The ocean plays a critical role in climate regulation, absorbing up to 90% of excess heat caused by human activity and up to 30% of human carbon dioxide emissions. It's also being negatively impacted by climate change, among so many other pressures, causing rising sea levels, temperature increases, acidification, and deoxygenation. But of course, the ocean is also the source of solutions to the climate prices. Sustainable ocean-based climate solutions from scaling up offshore renewable energy to creating climate smart marine protected areas can all help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build greater resilience for people and planet. Fortunately, ocean-based climate solutions are also being recognized like never before. COP25 was the first blue cop under the leadership of Chile. And last month, ocean-based climate solutions featured prominently in President Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate in the United States, including at an event that we were lucky to be able to help support as the UN Foundation. So as we look towards COP26, we have a real opportunity to maintain and grow further momentum on climate and ocean action. And we have critical milestone opportunities ahead of us. It's up to us to bring ambition to that task. And I know that all of our guests today will help inspire that. And we have an extremely full agenda. We're going to start with what we're calling a seaside chat between Lord Goldsmith, Minister for Pacific and the Environment of the United Kingdom and host, of course, of the upcoming COP26 summit in Glasgow this year and Mr. Oves Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UNFCCC. Well, then here from Gonzalo Munoz, High Level Climate Champion for Chile, of course, host of the blue cop COP25, who will speak to a new ocean climate-focused transformation that is very part of the champion's Race to Zero initiative. And then we'll move into a panel featuring a rock star of experts, including Sherry Norsaline, Special Advisor on Climate Change to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Vice-Chairman of GITI Group, David Abura, Founder of the Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean, Cordeo, in East Africa. Angelique Couponeau, Chief Executive Officer at the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust, and Valdemar Kutz, Director of Environment and Oceans of Chile's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So let's dive in. First, we're honored in our seaside chat to be joined by Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Mr. Oves Sarmad and Lord Goldsmith of the United Kingdom, our COP26 hosts, of course. Lord Goldsmith is a vocal champion for nature conservation in the UK and beyond, who was first appointed to his current roles in February of last year with ministerial responsibilities that span everything from forestry and biodiversity to the illegal wildlife trade. As the United Kingdom gathers up for what I gather is the largest political gathering it has ever held, we'll see if that's true. We're delighted he's able to join us today. Oves Sarmad has been Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC for three years, previously serving as Chief of Staff to the Director General at the International Organization for Migration following over 20 years and not organization. In his role at the UNFCCC, he helps manage the operations of the entire organization, advises on a full range of strategic and international issues, and describes himself in his Twitter biography as a congenital stubborn optimist. So we're delighted that you're also able to join us and hopeful that you will import a strong dose of that to all of us this afternoon. So a warm welcome to you and I'm going to start Oves with you. Lord Goldsmith has described COP26 as a once in a generation opportunity to protect our planet from the impacts of climate change and to restore the natural world that sustains us in all in all ways. It's clear that the challenges facing us from the twin crises of climate and biodiversity loss are immense. And since the Paris Agreement, we have seen growing awareness of how the ocean can contribute to the stable functioning of our planet and climate, but the urgency of the challenge is also grown. So it's clear that COP26 is absolutely pivotal as a point on our calendar. What do you see as the most critical steps we need to take to accelerate that journey to net zero and how can the ocean play its part? Elizabeth, thank you very much. And it's a great pleasure for me to join this group and at the outset, also like to thank the organizers, the World Economic Forum, WRI and the Friends of Ocean Action. And I can say that this is a very meaningful group. And I personally and professionally support their work deeply. Brief context, reflection reflecting what Lord Goldsmith has said that this is a once in a generation opportunity COP26 and why is that? From my perspective, it's very clear, especially coming out of a bit of a dip in global international commitment to climate action in the last few years, because of political upheavals that we all face, we're coming out of it. And also the backdrop of COVID recovery from the COVID. This COP indeed is a once in a generation opportunity. And why is that because we want to rebuild the trust in multilateralism and engage everybody, all sectors, government, public sector, private sector individuals who raise ambition to really turn the corner and as we also call it, you know, to turn the corner and get to the tipping point of the positive climate action. And in doing so, we need to also keep the promises that were made. That is, the governments need to keep the promises that were made five years ago when the Paris agreement was adopted. And one of the main, the key promise was the developed countries promised that they would provide hundred billion dollars every year from 2020 onwards to developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change, including to protect the oceans. So that needs to be done because that has that has become a major issue in the rebuilding of the trust and confidence in taking the actions that I just mentioned. And then finally, also to finish the rulebook, as we call it, that is to make the Paris agreement fully operational. We did a lot of work in Katowice and Madrid, but there are a few elements of that Paris agreement implementation that still remain to be completed. So COP26 is the year is the time to do that. So that is the backdrop. Now, where do the oceans come into all of this is oceans cover 71% of the earth mass. So it's very obvious that we need to make sure that we protect that mass of our existential asset, if you like. And in doing so, if you don't do that, we continue to see the warming of the oceans and acidification, deoxygenation, sea level rise. And all of that will result in huge displacement and suffering all around us. And we are seeing that as we speak right now. There is a cyclone that is just hit the eastern part of India twice in a week. So these events are happening all around. So there is a huge opportunity. So oceans provide a huge space also for mitigation action through offshore renewables, restoration and protection of blue carbon. Blue carbon have become a major source of sinks. And that is recognized in our process of UNFCCC. So that is extremely important. And all of that would reduce emissions also from the ocean space transport. So there are many mitigation aspects. We also need to build ocean-based resilience through nature-based solutions and many other actions that we need to take. Otherwise, things will just become even more difficult. And Paris Agreement provides a fantastic opportunity and a format and a framework in which countries are required to submit the NDCs and national adaptation plans in which the way they deal with oceans, oceans as a source of mitigating and protecting the biodiversity is a recognized and a very significant part of their commitments. So we would like to see that happen. And we are seeing some very good results. I'm sure Gonzalo will talk about it. Chile has led that by showing that by example. Chile, which has a huge coastline and they know what it means to live with and protect the ocean. So those are some of the things that I wanted to share with you and then have a discussion. I just don't want to be talking myself. I'd like to hear others and engage in a conversation. Back to Elizabeth. Well, wonderful. Thank you. And I'm very pleased now to turn to Lord Goldsmith, who has joined us. No, it's wonderful to see you. Lord Goldsmith already introduced you. So thrilled to have you here for our seaside chat. I wonder if you could say a bit about the UK's priorities for COP26 as the host and to kind of help set the scene for our conversation in this session. Tell us a bit about why the UK government has prioritized the ocean is so important to the climate agenda, and especially how you see the role of nature playing out in the priorities for a successful COP. OK, thank you so much. And I really apologize for being late. My technological wizardry failed me, but I'm here and I'm thrilled to be here. The ocean matters because it matters for climate. The ocean helps regulate our climate. We think it's absorbed around 90 percent of the excess heat that human activities have caused. We think it's absorbed around nearly a third of human CO2 emissions or human caused CO2 emissions. It provides oxygen in every second breath that we take. Billions of people rely on the ocean for their food. Around a billion people depend on fish as their main source of protein. And hundreds of millions depend on oceans for their livelihoods. Estimated around three billion. So it matters. And at the same time as its importance is really not in doubt, we're decimating it. Almost two-thirds of our coastal wetlands are now degraded about a third of marine mammals are threatened with extinction. We believe around a third of all fisheries have either gone or on the brink. And just as quickly as we're stripping life out of the ocean, we're filling it with trash. And there's only so long the ocean can can act as a buffer and take the beating, the savaging that that is happening, that we're subjecting it to. And we know there's a knock on effect. So as the ocean warms, even if we stick to two degrees, we are expecting to lose around 99 percent of corals. Corals provide habitat for a quarter of all marine species. So on and on and on it goes. So the ocean really matters. And the most important thing we can do for the ocean, although there are lots of things, but the most important thing we can do is keep within one and a half degrees. That means halving emissions this decade. It means net zero by 2050. If we do that, then we will we will be doing our bit to try and maintain the system, the ocean system that enables everything else that I just described to happen. Once that system begins to break down, it becomes very, very hard to do what we need to do. So that is the single most important thing, but there's an awful lot more stopping the plastic pollution, fishing responsibly, protecting large areas, et cetera. But in the context of climate, it's 1.5 degrees. Well, thank you so much. And you know the secretary general's special envoy for the ocean and friends of ocean action, coach Peter Thompson has said there is no more important restorative moment for the ocean than COP26. And it's called for the summit to be seen through the blue lens of the ocean. Ocean is climate climate is oceans. You've just really powerfully laid out, recognizing that we do have participants online who may be less familiar with these issues. You've already given us a really good sweep. But could you say a little bit more about some of the specific ways the role the ocean can play a role in climate solutions and what you expect to see at COP26? Yeah. And I'd love to do that. And your question actually right at the beginning was was almost more broad than the oceans. It was more about nature generally. And we that doesn't matter how you look at it or which organizations model or blueprint you're studying or following, there is no pathway to net zero or to 1.5 degrees without massively increasing our efforts to protect and restore nature. And that's everything from forests to oceans and mangroves in between. We think that nature based solutions could provide around a third of the most cost-effective solution to climate change and the beauty of nature based solutions is that they do a lot more than that. They support livelihoods. They support biodiversity. We know that we're in the middle of a biodiversity crisis. They help communities be more resilient to what we know is going to be a change in climate no matter how effective we are collectively in tackling climate change. So we despite that huge contribution that nature can provide, it only gets about a third, a third. I think it's about 3 percent of total global finance climate which is totally disproportionate to the impact it could have. And within that 3 percent, a tiny part of that is for the ocean. So a huge opportunity we have in which we need to seize is protecting and restoring mangroves. A billion people depend on wetlands for a living. A hundred million people live within 10 kilometers of mangroves. And we know the mangroves are critically important breeding grounds for important fish. They can reduce the depth of flooding from tsunamis by anything up to 30 percent. Planting them is a fantastic way of mitigating climate change, absorbing carbon, but also providing that resilience. Salt marshes too absorb about 90 percent of the energy of waves and seagrasses on nurseries for about 20 percent of the world's large fishes and home to endemic and endangered species, everything from the dugong to turtles to seahorses and manatees are the same as dugongs. They are hugely important. So the more we can do to find those opportunities to invest in restoring the ocean systems, the more impact we'll have on climate change, both mitigation and adaptation. So it is a priority. And I completely agree with those comments from the UN Secretary General. I think that's what you were quoting earlier, the UN Ocean Ambassador. And the last point I'd make is that we can get depressed looking at the figures of destruction when it comes to the natural world. And they are stark. I mean, it's horrific. We're losing 30 football pitches worth of forests every minute where a million species facing extinction, plus the figures I mentioned earlier. But protecting nature in the marine environment does work. We know that. And the marine protection is almost like a magic cure. You look at any marine protected area in the world that's been set up and you see within a matter of three, four, five, six years, the catch for local fishing communities goes up outside of those protected areas because they've become nurseries. So the more protected areas we can create, the better. And quite often they're controversial when they're starting, particularly with fishing communities. But after a few years of being established, they're embraced pretty, pretty much everyone is sort of win, win, win. So it was a big part of our program. We've doubled our climate finance. We're going to put nearly a third of it into nature-based solutions, which are equates to about three billion pounds into nature. Of that, we're putting a half a billion pounds of fun together called the Blue Planet Fund. And that will be helping communities around the world establish and better protect marine protected areas in the key areas. And that will involve things like mangrove planting. It'll involve coral reef protection, seagrasses. But it'll also involve protecting areas of the high seas where two-thirds of the ocean are beyond national jurisdiction and need protection as well. Now, thank you for such a rich laying out of all of the different considerations and actions that are already being taken and that can be scaled further. Oves, I want to ask you kind of a similar question because the subsidiary body for scientific and technological advice of the UNF CCCC, that's a lot of words for an important body, recently came out with a report highlighting a number of specific ideas and actions also that could be taken. And I wonder if you could just say, from your perspective, what do you think are the most important steps that could be taken specifically also at COP26 as we look toward that moment and what we're looking for, not just governments, but all stakeholders to try to come to the table to deliver. Thank you, Oves, but then there are hardening to hear a lot Goldsmith and his perspective and would like to have another opportunity to dig deeper into some of the things that he mentioned. But you're right, in COP26 about a year or more than a year ago, actually, because 2020 seemed to have been just wiped out. So 2019 in Spain, COP25 took a decision. And one of the bodies of COP is SUPSTO, which is the scientific body. It took a decision that I called on the governments to strengthen the understanding of the action on ocean and climate change, adaptation and mitigation. So it was a formal decision that was taken. And so and that resulted in something referred to as ocean dialogue, which offered a vital space for enhancing and strengthening the learning, the action and the synergies. And there were a lot of synergies that had to be made because in the U.N. we tend to have a bit of side of approach our organization does something. The CBD does another thing and CCD and all that. So the idea was to bring all the U.N. organizations, the NGOs, the businesses, private sector all together and participate of all representing of all voices at the table to provide a co-produced equitable solution and people-centered action. And that resulted in a report which was then presented, which also highlighted the divide between ocean and climate, ocean and biodiversity, ocean and sustainable development. Those were all completely artificial as the discussion went deeper to look at those issues. So the outcomes of the ocean dialogue highlighted that moving forward there must be a strengthened action on ocean and climate incorporated into both processes. Under our process, which is the UNCCC and the U.N., the Sustainable Development Goals and other processes and as well as the need to, as Lord Goldsmith also mentioned, to strengthen international finance because a lot of those actions are very good when we sit down and discuss those, but to get those actions off from the paper and implement those in an actionable way, we definitely need finance and that goes back to my first point as I mentioned, the commitment made by many of the developed countries to provide that finance to the developed countries who are also major custodians and beneficiaries from the oceans in many different ways. So that is what that SUPSTA did and the work still, I would say it's a work in progress. And once again COP36 will provide a great opportunity to plan that work. Now, thank you so much. And this is a rich conversation and we're criminally short of time to have it as fully as I know we would like to continue. So I wonder if I can just turn to you each before we conclude our chat for just the last thought that you'd like to leave our listeners with as we think about this calendar marching up to a series of related summits around issues of natural systems and human systems and of course then concluding with COP26. Lord Goldsmith, maybe I can go first to you for your final thoughts. Thank you so much. I mean, it's a huge question. So I'm going to have to be disciplined in my answer but nature has to be at the heart not just of COP but really every country's approach to tackling climate change. For my part, we're hosting COP we're also midway hosting through the G7. We're pushing for the highest possible ambition. And we're also working with partners to try and get the biggest possible ambition at Kunming, working with China. And the vicious targets through an agreement that we're going to protect 30% of the world's land and ocean by the end of the decade. We want new international mechanisms to protect the two thirds of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction. It's a complicated process but countries need to engage in good faith and the countries that are engaging in good faith need to team up and put pressure on those that perhaps less so. And we need a conclusion of the ongoing WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies which are public money being used to cause rather than solve the problem. And maybe not finally but I think the climate vulnerable countries many of them are small island developing states have an incredibly powerful voice if they're given the platform. You know, they're on the front line of dealing with climate change. Their dependence on the ocean is more acute than most other countries. They're not contributors particularly to the problem despite bearing the brunt of the downside. And many of them are leaders in terms of positioning themselves to address these issues. So I feel the UK has a real responsibility to provide that platform where we can amplify their voices now and in the run up to the COP and actually listen to their voices not just in a box sticking sense but genuinely listen to them. And so there's really a huge amount to do and I just make one final point that I'm so happy today to be able to say that the UK is now moving to full membership of the Ocean Risk and Resilient Action Alliance or the O-R-R-A-A. The G7 have just agreed to strengthen support for that initiative and it's going to build resilience in regions most at risk with, I think it's starting with $500 million of investment for internet-based solutions. Many of the things we've already been talking about. So that's an initiative that we're excited to be part of and we need to grow and grow and grow that ambition. Well, that's fantastic news. It's a wonderful alliance and initiative and that's great news. So thank you for those thoughts and Oves, you will have the final word for our seaside chat. Well, as you said, there's a lot there and I can be very brief. I think what we're looking for is a very strong and highest level of political will to turn all of those well-meaning recommendations and actions that have been already clearly laid out into implementation and that involves also the full implementation of Paris Agreement and unleashing its full potential. So that's where we now want to go and once again, COP26 is a fantastic and unique opportunity. Well, thank you again both for a wonderful exchange that sets up the rest of our session also so nicely. You can count, I think, on all of us for a thousand percent support for this critical moment on the calendar. Thank you again. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'd now like to introduce Gonzalo Muñoz, the high level climate champion for Chile. Together with the UK's high level climate champion, Nigel Topping, Gonzalo works to champion the ambition and action of non-state actors in addressing climate change. So that means that he works with partners from all sectors, with cities, with states and regions, businesses, investors, civil society groups, labor, to raise the ambition and to create what he has called an ambition loop where non-state actors push governments to boulder in more ambitious climate action on their part and where greater government action creates space and support for non-state actors to go even further and faster. Well, as I think many of us know, one of the key initiatives of the high level champions is the Race to Zero campaign, which aims to mobilize companies to commit to net zero by 2050 with intermediate targets by 2030. And as part of that effort, looking at race to zero breakthroughs, which are setting specific trajectories for key sectors, including hard to obey sectors and systems. It was launched by the high level climate champions, by COP26 president, designate Alec Sharma and by the UNFCCC executive secretary, Patricia Espinoza. And they really give us a map of what key actors must do by when to deliver on the change that we know we all need. So Gonzalo, we're absolutely delighted to have you join us to speak to this topic today about the ocean's crucial contribution to this important work. So Gonzalo, the floor is yours. Thank you, Elisabeth. Thank you so much, dear Logos-Mid, Obey's, my dear friend, panelists. It's a real pleasure to join you today as we're launching a new set of guidance and targets for the ocean to deliver on a resilient net sea of future. As Elisabeth just mentioned, with my dear friend Nigel Topping and myself as the two UN high level champions of climate action, we're building on the legacy of our predecessors to engage with all non-state actors and encourage a collaborative shift across all of society towards the need of the carbonized economy so that we can all thrive in a healthy resiliency of a carbon world. So we're both totally convinced that in that sense, ocean has an absolutely critical role to play for the world to deliver on these objectives. So today we're releasing a revised version of the UNFCCC Climate Action Pathways for Oceans and Coastal Zones. This corner store document for ocean climate action provides all stakeholder with a vision for the ocean to deliver on a 1.5 resilient world in 2050 and highlight overarching transformation of milestones that need to be achieved. I personally invite all of you to please study this document, hopefully and please endorse it and take of course the necessary actions to turn this vision into reality. As highlighted in the ocean pathway and has been mentioned by also Lord Goldman and my friend of Ace, the ocean plays a fundamental role to put us on a 1.5 pathway. It absorbs 25 to 30% of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions that would otherwise remain in the atmosphere and increase global warming. So counting on the ocean as a whole to continue to act as an increased carbon sink is thus not an option. In addition, ocean-based industries such as zero emission shipping, offshore wind and sustainable aquaculture and fisheries can and must greatly contribute to a net zero economy. The ocean and its industries have the potential to mitigate climate change on a huge scale, but this is currently done at great cost to ocean health resulting in ocean warming, ocean acidification and ocean deoxygenation. As high level climate champions, our efforts are organized around two main campaign. One of them, you just mentioned it Elisabeth, the Race to Zero, but also Race to Resilience. Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, region, investors, universities, all for a zero carbon future. It is the largest ever alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the very latest. Therefore, to protect our ocean and deliver on the climate goals, we need to take two essential steps. One, of course, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and to reverse ocean biodiversity loss. For companies to contribute to these global challenges, they need to join the race, join the Race to Zero as soon as possible and take actions to reverse the loss of blue carbon ecosystems and publicly report on the progress. First of all, by joining the Race to Zero companies commit to drastically cut the greenhouse gas emissions by halving the emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions as soon as possible and by 2050 at the very, very latest. As it was highlighted by Minister Goldsmith, climate action is ocean action. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction are vital to protect the ocean. For companies joining this journey is demonstrating climate leadership to your employees, your investors, your customers and driving change in your supply change. This global engagement of non-state actors through the Race to Zero campaign is also absolutely critical to encourage governments to be ambitious and enhance their indices, demonstrating that the market are ready and solutions can be deployed as scale that is crucial. That's what you mentioned, Elizabeth, as the ambition loop. We need to work in an ambition loop that is in which both government policies and private sector leadership reinforce each other and together take climate action to the next level. Secondly, while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, companies should at the same time step up their actions to protect, restore and sustainably use coastal and marine ecosystems. Biodiversity is critical to the implementation of climate crisis solutions as we still need to draw down the excess carbon in the atmosphere and the ocean. The best way of doing that is through nature. But as things are standing today, there isn't enough wild nature left to do the job, as Laura Goldsmith also mentioned. Therefore, reversing the loss of the blue carbon ecosystem, namely salt, marshes, mangroves and seagrasses, is a key part of global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These ecosystems sequester and sow more carbon per unit area than terrestrial forests, which make them significant net carbon sinks. So however, if the ecosystem are degraded or damaged, their carbon sink capacity is lost and the carbon storage in the soil is released resulting in CO2 emissions. So in addition to the mitigation potential, marine natural ecosystems such as mangroves of coral reef can help safeguard coastal cities, communities and businesses from a changing climate. Globally, near a billion people are estimated to be living in 100-year coastal flood plains by 2030. In this regard, the Race to Resilience, the sister initiative of the Race to Zero campaign, aims to catalyze a step-changing global ambition and action for climate resilience, putting people in nature first. So this campaign is focused on helping frontline communities to build resilience and adapt to impacts of climate change, such as extreme heat growth, flooding and sea level rise. So today I'm calling all industries to take action to contribute to reversing blue carbon ecosystem loss by 2030 and publicly report on their progress. If we want ocean-based climate solutions to be at the forefront of the negotiations in Glasgow and be part of our future, governments need to see much more companies, investors and cities joining the Race to Zero and the Race to Resilience. Just like Oveys mentioned, I also believe COP25, the blue-club COP, has been a major milestone to strengthen the ocean climate agenda. We will surely hear more about it from Baldemar during the panel discussion. Now we need to launch a global movement of ocean stakeholders to both commit to reduce their carbon emissions and take action to reverse marine ecosystem loss. Ocean initiatives, such as the Friends of Ocean Action, have a key role to play in this journey. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, Gonzalo, for sharing all of that with us and for your leadership and just tireless work on this agenda. We're all grateful to you. I'm sure everybody who has been listening has inspired to help push for the kind of ocean ambition loop you described and what a resounding signal it would send at Glasgow to have business, civil society, cities, regions, investors, all coming together united in harnessing the ocean's potential to help meet the Paris goals as well as to create a more inclusive and resilient economy, which we know is top of mind for everyone. Well, we're delighted now to move into our panel discussion. There will be a parallel opportunity as you listen to our panelists to have a dialogue, questions and answers using the Slido platform. If you want to do that, you go to either www.sli.do or you can scan the QR code that should be on the screen with your phone camera. And when you reach Slido, just type in hashtag ocean dialogues and select this session so that you can access that. While you're all doing that, it is my great pleasure to introduce our distinguished panelists. And I'll be brief about introducing them in the interests of time. They have extraordinary bios, but I'll just give their most current title. Angelique Coupono, an international environment lawyer who is executive officer at the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust or SEICAT. Sherri Norsalim, special advisor on climate change to the government of the Republic of Indonesia and vice chairman of the GITI Group. Voldemort Kutz, director of environment and oceans at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile. And David Obura, the founder of Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean or Cordeo. A warm welcome to you all. Voldemort, I'd like to start with you. Chile is of course, widely recognized as a global ocean leader. And I'd love it if you could give some background about why Chile sees the ocean as so integral in the response to climate change and just how you as a country have worked to incorporate ocean action into national policies, which we know is so critical. Well, first of all, I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me. I would like also to highlight the words of Lord Goldsmith because after listening to him, I believe we will have a second blue cup in Glasgow. Having said that, I wish to highlight that we're convinced that one of the most practical and cost effective strategies for ocean protection is the creation of marine protected areas. They can contribute significantly to protect biodiversity, recovery of species, ecosystems and degraded habitats. There is enough scientific evidence to recognize the importance of MPAs in this regard, especially recognizing its potential as in contributing to the health of the ocean so the ocean can function as a relevant climate regulator and carbon sink. Now, as regards to my country, this is a narrative that we started in 2014 by through the our ocean conferences that Secretary Kerry launched that year. We organized the second our ocean conference here in Chile. And through a state policy, we have created about 41 marine protected areas accounting for 43% of our exclusive economic zone, which by the way is about the 10th largest in the world. And we ranked about sixth globally in total marine protected coverage by country. Now, research has been highlighted, shows that ecosystems such as mangrove, sea grass meadows, salt marshes and are 10 times more affected at sequestering carbon dioxide annually on a per area basis than boreal temperature tropical forests. And this is a point that I wanted to highlight because until now the UNFCCC has sent it's focused on forests, which is good. But we also have to center the attention of the UNFCCC framework in what the oceans can do to tackle the climate change issue. I also want to highlight that. Well, we see a clear connection in the 30 by 30 target with the UNFCCC COP26 and also the CBD COP15 on biodiversity and the oceans well-being. We expect that the high sea street under on close process will be concluded destined to protect marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions will include strong provisions for the establishment of effectively managed and a connected system of ecologically representative marine protected areas in the high seas. Now, in this connection, President Pinera during the leader summit on climate convened by President Biden underlined that we should be more ambitious and invited the international community to go further and start what we call the second phase, which is our efforts to secure marine protected areas in the high seas. And this proposal is in line with President Biden's final statement, as you may recall, in the sense that this decade is one of decisions, implementation and collaboration. In fact, we wish to lead the way, as I said, to create a fully protected high seas MBA in our natural projection in the high seas. This is in the Nazca Ridge of the southeastern Pacific as a priority measure to address the climate crisis. We are talking about a zone that is recognized as ecologically and biologically significant area by the CBD. We're also making efforts in the Antarctica. And lastly, I wish to highlight our membership in the high level panel for sustainable ocean economy led by Norway and Palau, of which Chile is a member in underscoring the role of ocean-based solutions to climate change through significant evidence-based recommendations in line with SDG 14. So I will leave it there. Thank you very much for your question, Elizabeth. Well, thank you. And I wonder if I can ask a quick follow-up about the COP in Glasgow in particular and practical and specific ways that we can really integrate the ocean's critical role into the COP's work. So I wonder if you could say a bit about how we might do that, how we might think about it and your hopes for what kind of outcome we can anticipate at the COP. OK. Thank you for your question. Well, I believe that bringing ocean issues into the center of the UNFCCC deliberations would create a greater impetus for countries to include ocean-related measures in their climate strategies, including in their NDCs, national adaptation plans, adaptation communications and national policy framework. With ocean and coastal ecosystems serving as the planet's largest carbon sink. Now, there are many opportunities for countries to upgrade their NDCs, such as by protecting and restoring blue-carbon ecosystems through climate, marine-protected areas, greening of shipping, decarbonizing fisheries or committing to offshore renewable energy. An outcome of COP26, which we hope it's the second blue COP, should include clear encouragement to parties to cover ocean-based climate action in their climate strategies. The global stock taking place after COP26 as part of the second ambition cycle of the Paris Agreement could serve to identify ocean-related gaps and opportunities. Well, nature-based solutions are critical in building the resilience of ecosystems and since financing for nature-based solutions remains comparatively low, we are called upon to urgently change the paradigm by accounting the value of blue natural assets, identifying investments, needs and providing the necessary incentives, investments, mechanisms and finance. Thank you. Thank you. I want to bring Cheri in here and first congratulations on your appointment as special advisor. I know you are very focused on COP26 and Indonesia's leadership will also be so critical in the context of your future G20, but I wonder if you could lay out for us the importance of ocean and climate action from Indonesia's perspective and also from the perspective of your region more broadly. Thank you, Elizabeth, your excellencies, dear friends of the oceans, from wherever you are. We are here today also because in Indonesia, the glaciers of the highest mountain of an island in the world, Punchak Jaya, also the highest point in Oceana, standing at 4,800 over meters, are disappearing. We are also here because the largest archipelagic nation of 18,000 islands, also the longest shorelines in the world can go around the world a few times. We've seen collapses in certain of the fishery stock. Actually at my backdrop is, you say this is a seaside check and my backdrop is in Kura Kura Bali, Kura Kura is Turtle, so it's Turtle Island. So we are off the coast of Bali that the sardine stock have collapsed and the local fishes and the communities are also suffering. So this is happening in many parts of the archipelagic and endangering local communities. Half of the protein source of the 270 million population in Indonesia are sourced from the oceans. We are here because Indonesia, the country with the most marine biodiverse footprint and we have three-quarter of the coral species of the oceans is threatened with human activities. The climate, the global warming, the pollution, the plastics and about 85% of the reefs are at risk versus the global average of 60%. So tonight is also special here. It's a full moon in May and a celebration of the Buddhist Vaisak Day. It's the total lunar eclipse and this is the blood super moon because it's the closest to the Earth. So that could be a sign and Indonesia in the past two weeks we have announced our net zero target 10 years ahead of the original plan to 2060 and we have also as a global producing nation taken the bold step to announce no more coal-fired power plants and also with energy transition mechanism for early coal-fired power retirement. So I think Indonesia could be a barometer of our human harmony with communities, with oceans and also with the spiritual. We call it Trijita Karana in Balinese three ways to happiness and we have initiatives to work together with the region with ASEAN as well as with the islands nations in different aspects to include engagement of the minds of the hearts as well as actions and we have very outstanding prototypes of collaborations that I think we'll be pleased to share. Thank you. Well thank you and let me follow up by asking if you can share a little bit more detail about the work that you're doing across the Pacific or with ASEAN. I know it came up in President Widodo's remarks at the US Climate Leaders Summit as well last month but can you share a little bit about some of the texture of that important work? Thank you. So Indonesia is the chair of the archipelagic island states and also aspires to be a global maritime fulcrum and we are now bridging a good rapport with the Pacific. I think we are I just talked to Ambassador Tantou Yahya Indonesian Ambassador in New Zealand we are about to launch a Pacific expo and also we are actually working together on with indigenous communities communicating with working on systems approach to bridge the communities I think we work with partners from around the world and we engage youth the indigenous communities and we bring in actually facilitators and we use because of the COVID and we have been using a lot of online approach and including sensing journeys into the local communities with the fishes, with farmers and I think we share sometimes at one session there could be 1,000 people participating and we see this trisector approach of listening together and understanding empathizing actually can see real outcomes and the kind of synergies that happen is very encouraging I think one of the initiatives that we feel in order to meet these targets we also need the financing apart from the hearts and these individuals and all these initiatives all need financing and so we have been since the 2018 World Bank IMF meetings in Bali we have started this Trihita Karana platform with partners International Chambers of Commerce UNSDSN World Bank IMF the OECD of course World Economic Forum has been a strategic partner with UID and many of us and we have facilitated this Trihita Karana roadmap on blended finance with the support I think the OECD has played a key role together with WAF and we have created principles around blended finance so the idea of blended finance is that we cannot meet the targets of the SDGs without private sector so multilateral funding, government funding, philanthropic funding we can find ways to use that catalytically to crowd in private sector investments so we hosted I think in 2018 the largest blended finance event in the world mobilizing 10 billion dollars but I think we are looking at for the oceans and also for the climate to do something quite significant I think there is a two and two two to three trillion dollars of global investment in the ocean economy across key areas conserving and restoring mangrove habitats scaling up of wind production decarbonization of international shipping, increasing the production of sustainably sourced ocean based proteins and we have this concept of the blue halo as which is a better business better world approach of managing the oceans concessions that will actually feed into support, sustain the MPAs as well as the mangrove restorations because sometimes we say that we know they are MPAs but actually there is no funding to really protect them so there have been really successful cases like the Indrajaan part and others where our partners conservation major consulate and others have been working on and we really could see a revival and increase if we do this with approach of blended finance so at the G20 we look to launch the global blended finance institute I think President Jokowi has written to President Joe Biden to invite them to support this initiative and co-founders and we will be reaching out to other countries to invite them to co-found this new multilateral, we are also looking to align the natural capital carbons and communities so we believe that you know with Indonesia being you know with the forest, with the peat land, with the mangroves I think we're probably the leading in the carbon stock and in natural capital aspects so we natural capital, carbon and communities because we really see the communities as the stewards of the earth so we really would like to invite all the partners and this is a multilateral so we're inviting countries to join us together and form this entity under the blended finance institute and to have this natural capital carbon communities marketplace so that we would be able to continue to sustain our oceans and we also invite you to join us in Bali, thank you Thank you and those are such critical initiatives at a time when people are looking for really powerful new instruments for filling critical gaps so thank you for that and for laying it out for us in such detail David, I'd like to turn to you next, first let me and on behalf of all of us, thank you for Kenya's patient co-hosting of the UN Ocean Conference and Lisbon that we're all looking so forward to so we've heard from Waldemar and Sheri about all the different ways that ocean action can be incorporated into a country's national policies and priorities and we know how critical the ocean is to a sustainable global economy it would rank as the world's seventh largest if one were counting it that way you work at the boundary of science and action and Kenya has been such a leader in working to incorporate sustainable blue economy activities into its NDC, I wonder if you could say more about why that's such an important set of steps for Kenya and for your region and continent more generally. Well, thank you very much Elizabeth I'd also like to thank the Friends of Ocean Action in the West for this platform it's an honour for me to be here with this panel and speakers and thanks to Kenya's Sherpa on the high level panel also for allowing me to present some of Kenya's experience in this on the virtual dialogue and to the global community I think Sheri just led into this very well for a country in Kenya's context but for any country really ecosystems are really essential natural capital the IBS, the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has told us that nature provides us with 18 classes of benefits and these are really essential for sustainable development they provide benefits across all of the STGs and to me this is really synonymous with the sustainable blue economy and really the alignment between the STG process over the last five years and for the next decade and growth of interest in the blue economy really emphasises how important this is and how they align with each other and climate mitigation and adaptation are just a subset of these benefits albeit extremely important ones of course now, Kenya provides just one case study of the importance of nature-based solutions and the pivot towards them in Kenya's NBC is I think quite instrumental and this is really a focus on mangroves and seagrasses because of their blue carbon potential of course and their carbon sequestration but also extending to associated ecosystems in the longer terms for example coral reefs and also terrestrial vegetation which is very important for mangrove and seagrass health and then into further offshore easeds and areas beyond national jurisdiction I would say one note on nature-based solutions for climate change from the biodiversity community which is where I come from and also from rural peoples there is some discomfort with this concept but I think that really comes from early mistakes in unnatural attempts at solutions and really now that we understand so much better that nature-based solutions are really about ecosystem-based adaptation of ecosystem-based mitigation and then right they secure multiple benefits streams for all people particularly those living close to poverty line they really provide very powerful pathways for countries to both address climate responsibilities and priorities as well as development strategies so examples in Kenya's updated NDC really revolve around blue carbon ecosystems for their value in carbon sequestration and this is paired with their ability to bring finance into local communities and I think this is critical this has been very amply demonstrated in Kenya's award-winning project Mikoko Pomodjo and the interest that Kenya and other countries have in scaling up this model to work in other locations so in relation to mitigation the payments for ecosystem services for coastal carbon are a central part of the NDC as mentioned now wetlands and their role in greenhouse gas emissions and removals then in terms of adaptation the role of mangroves and seagrasses and protecting coastal communities and infrastructure as well as flood protection for informal settlements and vulnerable urban areas the mention of a mangrove management plan that supports this process into the future then there is also mention of blue economy sectors in particular ecotourism, seaweed farming and very important is the resilience in fisheries so in extending fisheries based on sustainable management and diversification of activities and also developing insurance and other safety net schemes that help to mitigate against the uncertainties imposed by climate change so my intake is that this really marks just a start and an even greater pivot of NDCs across many countries to solutions from nature and ocean ecosystems in coming cycles and I think a final point I'll make on this is that the costs of coping with climate change are of course vast Kenya estimates that 62 billion dollars are required from now till 2030 of which 13% can be sourced locally and I think it's important the natural capital or ecosystems provide the free services that would otherwise have to be paid for and they provide a very important source of value and a source of solutions that otherwise would have to be invested in so also investing in natural capital investing in ecosystems as in the sustainable blue economy can generate very high returns and there are multiple studies addressing this issue both commissioned by the high level panel recently and I think into the future and so they are a priority for short assuring ocean climate solutions and meeting the Paris agreement I'm really important point about our being just at the beginning of a whole new way of investing in nature in all of these solutions I wonder if we can ask you I just want to follow up with you specifically about coral reef systems because of your expertise in that area and because it comes up so often as a source of such great vulnerability and risk and I wonder if you can say a little bit about what do we most need to do with respect to the challenges in those systems well so the interesting question that is emerging now and particularly with the biodiversity and climate crises and coral reefs really are a flagship for this is that they previously have been seen as separate crises but as they are increasing they're merging and becoming intertwined with one another much more clearly the threat level impacts intensify one impacts the other even more and these positive feedback groups intensify each other the inseparability of the two crises is now illustrated by a joint workshop report that is about to be launched by the IPCC and it best together which I was able to participate in hopefully in the next few weeks and it really demonstrates that increasing biodiversity loss accelerates climate change particularly when the biodiversity loss is in globally important carbon sinks and it's already clear that intensifying climate change accelerates biodiversity loss so importantly for us thinking about ocean based climate action all nature based solutions are undermined by both climate change and by biodiversity loss so implementing them as early as possible is critical but the essential is twinning this with aggressive emission reductions because otherwise all investments in nature based solutions are undermined now coral reefs really show us this they're a flagship or learning ecosystem we see them approaching the brink of collapse I think Lord Goldsmith mentioned the figure at the beginning 99% of coral reefs may be lost at 2 degrees of warming it's important to realize that if they do collapse and cease to be this globally connected ecosystem ringing the tropics they're not only do local communities, economies and countries lose this immense treasure but there will be castades of collapses and other systems that will fall as short for you as well so in a very real sense with respect to climate change if we save coral reefs we save everything and I love saying that from the coral reef perspective the inseparability of the two issues increases with every year of inaction so the action is critical and I think a key thing that we must also think is well we need to have a message of hope to end with and one is about embracing change which is what climate change is about it turns out in the ocean the climate shifts the temperature belts moving towards the poles is actually 5 times faster in the sea than on the land and so this means that if we're planning ocean solutions, ocean climate solutions today we have to think about how conditions may be in 10, 20 or 30 years and beyond we have to embrace this change it's an uncomfortable question but we must address it in order to make sure that the solutions that we're putting in place for decades from now will have the greatest possibility of working in providing the benefits that we hope that they will thank you well thank you and you know the founder of the UN foundation Ted Turner had one mantra which was to save everything and I love that call for in a sense positive feedback loops to be harnessed in the right direction it's the ones we want rather than the ones we want to avoid thank you for that David Angelique I want to turn now to you you obviously come from another of the world's best greatest ocean and climate leaders the Seychelles and I want to come back to this theme of ocean action at the national level the NDCs we heard last month that the president Biden's climate summit that the Seychelles would be dedicating an entire chapter of your NDC to ocean climate issues and I'd love to hear you lay out from your perspective just how you've gone about doing that and how you work to prioritize this nexus between the ocean and climate thank you very much and greetings from the Seychelles thank you for the invitation to come and speak on what is a very important issue and something that is very close to heart from a small island developing state and it was comforting and it was great to hear Lord Goldsmith you know the court presidency highlighting the importance of the voice of small island developing states so indeed I'm from the Seychelles a small island developing state or a big ocean state as we like to we like to say we are 99% ocean and 1% land and as a small island state we often turn to the ocean for its potential as well as its opportunity but we know very well the science is clear that the ocean is critical in addressing the biggest threats to Seychelles but also to humanity that is of course climate change today I share Seychelles' story as a beacon of hope and a hope that others will be inspired to do much of the same many people know Seychelles for its ambitious commitment to protect 30% of its exclusive economic zone that it was able to deliver on in March of last year today I hope to share Seychelles' blue carbon journey but also as you mentioned a journey of including and really making I think our NDC a blue NDC but this is not only a journey of ocean alone it is a journey of kindness multi-discipline all ocean stakeholders working towards nature-based solutions to address the threats of climate change as mentioned I am from the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust and with the use of the proceeds of the sovereign blue bond Sherry earlier referenced to the need for blended finance and this is one such example where we have been able to get private sector not-for-profit together to fund innovative solutions to challenges that we are seeing at societal levels but one of the projects that we are funding is to develop a first pass assessment of potential blue carbon opportunities in Seychelles the first milestone was a literature review based on the tropical western Indian Ocean it became clear that there are major geographic gaps of blue carbon datasets in particular in small island developing states for example in Seychelles we have only four studies one on mangroves and three on seagrass meadows so this has revealed a much needed gap that needs to be filled so through Seychelles coastal wetlands and climate change project we are embarking on a very ambitious groundbreaking piece of work multi-disciplinary nature in partnership with of course the government of Seychelles the Q Charitable Trust the Nature Conservancy University of Oxford University of Seychelles Blue Economy Research Institute and local NGOs so really bringing together scientists financiers, non-for-profits academic institutions and really bridging that science policy nexus so with that we intend to map seagrass meadows across the entire exclusive economic zone of Seychelles assess carbon cores of those meadows in specific locations we will then integrate we will then integrate this into our nationally determined contribution and in particular subsequent climate communications we are doing this very much as an ecosystem based adaptation because of seagrass meadows and other historical benefits so biodiversity of course which we are very much dependent on for tourism to attract those charismatic turtles in our marine spaces which of course many people come to visit our countries to see nurseries for fisheries that supports local communities and their livelihoods and of course that global ecosystem service to the world so the commitments you did reference those that our minister for environment made at the lead up event to President Biden's climate summits and that is to put protections in place through our marine spatial planning process and the marine protected area network to protect at least 50% of seagrass and mangroves by 2025 and protect 100% by 2030 should external funding be available so as I said our revised NDC is a blue NDC one where we were able to look at not only blue carbon as a nature based solution but also various sectors within the blue economy that's going to assist us to build resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change and internationally we continue to work with our partners the co-presidency to continue to push to have a closer nexus between ocean and climate within the UNFCCC process and most recently of course look to see how we can include ocean within the global stock take so with that very exciting journey ahead to Glasgow and I'm hopeful that Seychelles can really continue to showcase the work that we've done and inspire others to join our leadership take myself off mute first of all that was terrific and I'd like to pick up on this theme of partnerships that you've all spoken about in very powerful and concrete ways and especially this point about financing that you just raised and if we can hear more about Seychelles efforts to finance your ocean assets and the work that Seychelles in particular is doing around those topics would be really helpful to hear absolutely and yes indeed that's sort of Seychelles niche and baby so Seychelles itself was created through a public-private partnership with the government of Seychelles and the Nature Conservancy to facilitate a debt-for-nature swap and what that means in simple terms is really a transaction to restructure government's debt on the basis that they make a commitment to protect 30% of their exclusive economic zone so the debt-for-nature swap not only allows for these financial benefits in terms of the benefits of the debt's relief for government but also it means that every year we have and I will go on to explain how this increases but from the debt-for-nature swap 200,000 US dollars that goes towards supporting ocean conservation and climate adaptation projects and this is on an annual basis for the next 20 years with an endowment that is being invested in ESG to provide further long-term financing for our ocean assets of course this brought the Nature Conservancy, the government of Seychelles together but it was just the beginning we then went on to have the government of Seychelles issue a sovereign blue bond and here a really evidence of partnership with having private investors from the United States invest in a sovereign issued bond by the government of Seychelles but bring down the interest costs with multilateral organizations providing those risk reducing mechanisms like partial guaranteed by the World Bank and here with the blue bond offers it and able Seychelles to be able to offer annually 700,000 US dollars as grants to local communities to businesses, to individuals to be able to be part of our transition to a low-carbon ocean based economy and in addition to that the sovereign blue bond also provides local businesses with the opportunity to invest really be part of these solutions by having a 12 million US dollar fund, a blue investment fund where they're able to take loans from the development bank of Seychelles these are two ongoing mechanisms but Seychelles continues to work on new innovative, exciting mechanisms and currently we're exploring blue carbon financing we know it's been it's been, it's quite a way when it comes to mangroves but of course there's so much more work when it comes to seagrass to explore what blue carbon financing could emerge from there and that's something that Seychelles is very much exploring and I'm definitely going to be reaching out to Sherry to learn more about this blended finance institute in Indonesia happy to contribute our experiences there well thank you so much and thank you all for an incredible conversation I fear that our time is at an end for today there is so much to talk about we could use so much more time with you all I hope there will be many opportunities to come together again but I just want to thank you all for a truly inspiring and truly hopeful conversation the challenges are immense but what we've heard from all of you is the incredible power in solutions we already have steps that are already being taken and if the right connections are made the right financing is there and the right coalitions of support are built there really is a powerful opportunity to move much faster and further ahead I think we've heard several key messages really loud and clear one that we are living on a blue planet is integral and critical to climate action just as climate action is urgently needed for the oceans that nature is clearly a central part of the solution with the ocean being vital to both mitigation and adaptation and that the impacts of these crises whether it's climate and ocean or climate and biodiversity loss have to be tackled together because they are integral systems and they are integral therefore in their solutions so as we move through this year's critical negotiations and milestone moments move toward the COP in Glasgow move toward the ocean conference in Lisbon next year I think we have a really strong roadmap for ways to make sure that the ocean is integral not only to those discussions but to all the actions and investments that are required so it's a busy road ahead but a lot of opportunity and I just want to thank you all again for your leadership in all domains for our colleagues who joined us earlier in this session and to the participants who joined online and have been having a good exchange and Q&A throughout so thank you all again I'd invite you all to reconnect to top link and share continuing thoughts and views and also encourage you to join tomorrow's dialogue session on climate breakthroughs the road to COP 26 and beyond in 2021 so this will focus on some of the harder to abate sectors and the breakthroughs we need to achieve a net zero world so to everybody warm thanks again stay safe please enjoy the rest of your day and I'll see you all hopefully easily