our impact
Building International Momentum
International and multi-government commitments play an important role in stimulating collective action.
OA Alliance members are calling for carbon emissions reductions alongside ocean mitigation and adaptation actions under international climate frameworks like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. We also deliver on OA commitments to the Our Ocean Conference and co-lead outcomes for the OA Research for Sustainability Program under the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainability.
OA Action Plans call forth renewed ambition to realize mitigation and adaptation targets in place across UNFCCC and deliver on Sustainable Development Goal 14.3, “to minimize and address ocean acidification.”
We building a robust global network to accelerate urgency for climate-ocean action and transform policy response and financing.
By integrating science, policy and investments, members are demonstrating the types of comprehensive projects that are required to deliver on the high-level commitments made through platforms.
Commitments and contributions
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UN Sustainable Development Goal 14
The Alliance is an active member of the Community of Action to Implement SDG 14.3.
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UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
The OA Alliance is active across the UNFCCC and the subsequent Ocean and Climate Dialogue which addresses ocean mitigation and adaptation measures across climate frameworks.
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UN Decade of ocean Science for sustainable development
The OA Alliance is part of two UN Decade endorsed programs: “Understanding and Addressing Ocean Acidification and Changing Ocean Conditions Through the Development of OA Action Plans,” project ID 8 and “Ocean Acidification Research for Sustainability (OARS),” project ID 219.
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Our Ocean Conference
The OA Alliance was launched at the 2016 Our Ocean Conference held in Washington D.C. under the leadership of then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
The OA Alliance is proud to make ambitious new commitments to advancing OA policy, financing and coordination.
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Leveraging climate-ocean networks
The OA Alliance works and supports some of the most relevant networks in the climate-ocean nexus.
“Because climate-ocean impacts and solutions require all of us to do our part, we joined with our West Coast jurisdictions to advance the work together and to bring other nations, subnationals, tribes and First Nations, and others to the fight. Never have our actions to address climate change been more important – the health of our ocean, our communities, and our livelihoods depend upon it.” — Governor Jay Inslee, U.S. State of Washington
“Support and cooperation are needed by the OA Alliance. This can be achieved in the form of information sharing of recent science, importance of best practices to mitigate and adapt and a call for collaboration.” — Semi Koroilavesau, Fiji Minister of Fisheries
“Government-led initiatives like the OA Alliance are vital to helping governments respond to the findings within the IPCC Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate and to implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14.” — Ambassador Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean
“Why is OA important to New Zealand? Food—food is part of our identity, and it doesn’t come from the supermarket; it comes from our ocean and our coasts. Gathering food is intimately connected with our traditions and our life; it’s a matter of heart and soul. These are the reasons we care about SDG 14.3—to minimize and address OA.” — Climate Change Ambassador Kay Harrison, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Advancing OA Actions Across United Nations Frameworks
At the international level, UN climate and ocean frameworks are beginning to integrate OA monitoring, research, mitigation and adaptation.
Learn more about OA actions taking shape across the UN Environment Assembly, UNFCCC Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue and Global Stocktake, UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.