Progress report for
Exploring the feasibility of an Intergovernmental Panel for Ocean Sustainability
Achievement at a glance
A feasibility study was published in 2023 (link: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b9ef0a36-42f7-11ee-a8b8-01aa75ed71a1). It assesses existing climate and environmental processes including IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) and WOA (World Ocean Assessment. The conclusion is that the knowledge is currently spread across various sources and making it difficult to meet the urgent demands of decision makers.Against this background, at the beginning of 2024, a follow-up project named “Towards IPOS” was launched. It is funded under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund programme (EUR 985 000) and runs for 2 years. The IPOS concept is evolving through broad consultations, with the goal of presenting for consideration a final concept at UNOC-3 (June 2025). The Towards IPOS project comprises a consortium of partners[1]. Broad consultations are ongoing to co-design the IPOS concept which tends now to be an international panel or platform rather than an intergovernmental one. Three workstreams are being conducted:
1. To continue the feasibility study and cover the socio-economic aspects.
2. To design the IPOS terms of reference i.e. what the IPOS will be; how it will work; what its governance will be; how it will be funded.
3. To operationalise IPOS. Three types of services are being envisaged targeting countries or non-state actors that would need outputs to be delivered in the short or medium term. The objective is to have deliverables that are targeted and actionable.
[1] Ocean Sustainability Foundation, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, European Marine Board, RIFS Potsdam, Ramboll, RE, Acteon, Fresh thoughts consulting
Next Steps
Benedicte CaremierBeneficiaries
IPOS is targeting countries and non-state actors.