A message from Ambassador Peter Thomson, UNSG’s Special Envoy for the Ocean to the IOC-UNESCO Ocean Literacy Training Courses

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In these days of virtual communication, it is often difficult to know whom one is addressing and how you are all faring as we work our way out of this global pandemic. So, let me begin these remarks today by expressing my respectful greetings to all of you, wherever you may be, and by sending you and your loved ones every best wish for a happy and healthy time together in 2021.

I am delighted, in the true sense of the word, to be addressing you on the subjects of Ocean Literacy and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development – known as the Ocean Decade. These are both dear to my heart, thus I thank you all, and UNESCO-IOC, for the privilege of speaking to you on these subjects.

As you may know, I am the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean and as such am charged with spearheading global efforts to implement SDG14, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal calling us to conserve and sustainably use the Ocean’s resources. At the heart of SDG14 is the Sustainable Blue Economy that will feed us through sustainable aquaculture, will give us energy from offshore wind, will provide us with new medicines in the antimicrobial age, and will enable our global trade on ships powered by renewable energy. But it is very important to understand when we look into the heart of the Sustainable Blue Economy and all the advances just mentioned, that we see there the Ocean Decade, and yes, Ocean Literacy. The Ocean Decade will give us the science we need for the Ocean we want, and Ocean literacy will spread the universal message.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to extrapolate on those assertions by making four points. Firstly, at the moment rough estimates figure that only 10 per cent of the Ocean’s genome is understood by science. In the years ahead, we will have some very important decisions to make on our relationship with this planet and we will need to take them on the basis of trustworthy science. With the Ocean covering 70 per cent of the planet, full scientific knowledge of its properties is quite obviously required. For this reason alone, the Ocean Decade assumes existential importance for us all.

Secondly, achieving the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda will require greatly improved understanding of the Ocean. The reality is that we will not be able to achieve SDG14, nor many of the other SDGs, including those related to hunger, climate, poverty, resilient cities, equitable economic development and human health, if there is not a significant acceleration in the generation and use of relevant Ocean science for our sustainable development solutions. With this in mind, in its mandating of the next UN Ocean Conference, the UN General Assembly has made science and innovation central to the theme of the conference’s work. Meanwhile, the Ocean Decade is recognition by Member States of the urgent need for Ocean science to rise to the great challenges we face in the 21st Century.

Thirdly, the Ocean plays a fundamental planetary role in mitigating the effects of Climate Change through its absorption of heat and carbon. This service alone makes the healthy functioning of the Ocean’s ecosystems critical to all humans. This is true whether you live thousands of miles inland or are part of coastal communities that rely on the Ocean for livelihoods. In short, the health of life on land is inextricably linked to the Ocean’s health. It is thus that Ocean issues must be front and centre in Climate Change talks and the debate must informed by sound Climate and Ocean science.

The work of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, of which I am a supporting member, clearly demonstrates that Ocean-based climate action can play a much bigger role in shrinking the world’s carbon footprint than was previously thought: it could deliver up to a fifth of the annual greenhouse gas emission cuts needed in 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

And fourthly, none of us are exempt from the responsibilities for and effects that will arise from the decline in the Ocean’s health. All of us have a stake. Think only of the fact that every second breath you take comes from the Ocean to appreciate the universality of our predicament. To sum up our predicament I give the example of coral.

The special report on global warming by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that once global temperatures increase beyond 2˚C above pre-industrial levels, we will lose the great majority of the planet’s living coral reefs. Meanwhile the World Meteorological Organisation warns us that on our current path of carbon dioxide emissions, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 3˚ to 5˚C by the end of this century. In other words, stay on our current track of greenhouse gas emissions and we will be doubling down on coral’s extinction. Coming from a Pacific Island, I find it incredibly difficult to imagine a world without coral; apart from all their other wonderful features, coral reefs are home to up to 30 per cent of the Ocean’s biodiversity, thus their loss would be catastrophic for the Ocean’s ecosystem. I say again, we cannot have a healthy Planet Earth without a healthy Ocean. So, we have work to do.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Implementation Plan for the Ocean Decade has recently been approved and I’m excited by all it lays before us. It offers a clean Ocean wherein sources of pollution are identified and reduced or removed; a healthy and resilient Ocean wherein marine ecosystems are understood, protected, restored and managed; a productive ocean that supports a sustainable ocean economy; a safe Ocean in which life and livelihoods are protected from Ocean-related hazards; and an inspiring and engaging ocean where society understands and values the ocean in relation to human wellbeing and sustainable development.

Over the next ten years, from a comprehensive scientific understanding of the Ocean’s genome, including the genetic properties of life in the deep sea, I’m confident we’ll find the requisites for human security on Planet Earth. All of these developments will require adequate finance, and financers will want to see sound evidence of sustainable ocean planning before allocating funds. Such plans will have to be based upon reliable science, therefore the Ocean Decade  could not be more timely.

We have long recognized that there is a disconnect between what scientists know about the Ocean and what the public understands, and we have long acknowledged that the Ocean is not sufficiently emphasized in formal education. Supporting and enabling Ocean Literacy will change that by increasing awareness on the state of the Ocean, providing tools and approaches to promote Ocean knowledge, and by disseminating the essential findings of Ocean science, all in the cause of Ocean sustainability. Since human health is inextricably linked to the Ocean’s health, Ocean Literacy is a portal to understanding how to be responsible in what we consume, produce and decide for our planetary future.

I said in an interview with UN News recently that the health of the Ocean will ultimately determine the survival of humankind on Planet Earth; asserting this was so because of the oft-repeated maxim the planet cannot be healthy without a healthy Ocean. In so saying I reiterated the fact that every second breath of oxygen we take comes from the Ocean. My remarks were part of a call for increased political will and greater attention to science as we approach the all-important Climate COP in Glasgow this November, particularly with reference to curbing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. As I’m sure you appreciate, the latter are the common enemy of Biodiversity loss, Climate Change and the decline of the Ocean’s health, and we will be needing to have trustworthy science at hand in order to make the right decisions for our future security. Therefore, I conclude my remarks to you today, by encouraging the forces of Ocean Literacy and the Ocean Decade, urging them on towards the ultimate defeat of that common enemy. The Ocean Literacy Strategy for the Ocean Decade will provide the adequate framework for all the interested parties to collaborate over the next 10 years to contribute effectively to the success of the Ocean Decade and to help foster the support that is needed from all the sectors of the society.

Considering again that the Ocean hosts the majority of Life on this planet, SDG14’s attainment is fundamental for us all; and I have said on many occasions that the Ocean Decade is what will give SDG14 the firm foundations it needs to succeed. Everything is connected from economies to ecosystems, from industry to biodiversity, and what I find particularly gratifying is the way that science and academia, the public and private sector, leaders and entrepreneurs, are now starting to converge on the same action areas for development of the Sustainable Blue Economy, the implementation of SDG14, and the Ocean Decade. As the saying goes, together we can, so may Ocean Literacy spread the word accordingly to every corner of the globe.

I thank you for your attention.

Maybe define what Ocean’s genome is as some of the participants in this initial training might not be aware.

Perhaps also mention how coral reefs are also such an important nursery area for many important commercial fish species, and thus also are vital in order to ensure food security? It would be powerful to show how this would affect nutrition in addition to biodiversity loss.