The annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12, 2023.
The Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), led by Dalhousie University, will elevate the role of the ocean in the fight against climate change by convening events and meetings with leaders in science, industry, policy, and philanthropy.
The need for an ocean observing system
Armed with our new $400 million Transforming Climate Action research program that will investigate the role of the ocean in climate change, OFI will push to expand and improve ocean observations worldwide to:
- improve climate forecasting to inform government and industry climate strategies
- enable responsible marine carbon dioxide removal to achieve climate mitigation at scale
The strategic place to start is with our proposed North Atlantic Carbon Observatory (NACO). The Observatory would provide permanent and urgently needed ocean observations in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The role of the ocean in climate change
The ocean plays a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate. It has absorbed more than 90 per cent of the excess heat and almost 30 per cent of the excess carbon dioxide caused by human activity.
Consequences of these changes include extreme weather events, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, coral reef mortality, and an increase in low-oxygen zones. Despite this, international investment in ocean observing systems has not kept pace with the need for critical information to guide decision-making.
The urgency
As the planet continues on a path to exceed 1.5°C increase over pre-industrial temperatures, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that society will need to bolster emissions cuts with carbon dioxide removal to meet the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement.
To achieve this responsibly and successfully, the world needs baseline ocean data, which can only be achieved through robust and integrated ocean observation.
