OFI's second ocean carbon workshop was held on October 5, 2022, as part of the World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit hosted by The Economist.
The workshop built on the outcomes from the first Ocean Carbon Workshop in 2021, which identified that the ocean is missing from global climate models and international climate strategy.
This year, the discussion focused on the natural and capital value of accurate climate strategy and how internationally coordinated ocean observation and synthesis can close the gap on climate models and improve policy decisions. Discussions and outcomes from this workshop fed into presentations at COP27 in November 2022.
Key Takeaways
- "The North Atlantic is at the heart of the machinery of the global climate engine," said Mr. Michel Jean. "We strongly believe that we need a concerted international coordination effort to coordinate all existing capabilities, both space-based and surface-based observing systems."
- [The ocean is] the foundation of our understanding of the climate and at the foundation of the climate services value chain that connects observation to decision making to understand climate change, understand the state of global climate, and both support climate change mitigation and adaptation action." Dr. Joanna Post.
- "We need this information, and we need it urgently to allow us to enhance science-based decision making, not just in Canada, but worldwide. For example, the ocean's vital carbon absorbing function, particularly what has been called deep blue carbon in the high seas, remains critically under observed and may be changing," said Senator Dr. Stanley Kutcher. "The North Atlantic Carbon Observatory is an example of this vital and urgently needed work, and an opportunity for Canadian leadership and helping to bring together a global consortium, to now do the hard work needed. Not tomorrow. But now."
