Leading ocean experts and keynote speakers will outline the numerous physical, chemical and biological links between the ocean and the climate. Here, the crucial objective is to raise public understanding of the interconnectedness of these two systems, too often studied apart, and to transport knowledge on what this entails. For example, the ocean absorbs about 25% of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions each year which leads to a rise in ocean acidification that in turn limits the ocean’s capacity for further CO₂ uptake and moreover has numerous impacts on marine ecosystems and hence human societies.

Facilitator: Françoise Gaill (Research Director, CNRS)

The second round table will address societal issues related to the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the functioning of the ocean in relation to coastal resources and humans that depend on those for their livelihoods. The keynote speakers will establish a link between changes in the maritime environment and their implications for society. As an example, floodings and coastal erosion, exacerbated by sea level rise due to global warming, are major risks to already vulnerable coastal communities and infrastructure. It is hence essential to promote sustainable management of human activities at sea, on the coast and inland to mitigate these detrimental effects of climate change.

Facilitator: Luis Valdés (Chief, Ocean Science Section, IOC-UNESCO)

Given the intrinsic relationship between ocean and climate systems, the decisions reached at COP21 will have an impact on the marine environment and the people that depend on it for their livelihoods. This last round table will aim at identifying pathways to better integrate ocean issues in the climate negotiations, especially with regard to the COP21 outcomes. Options to integrate the ocean both in the Paris Agreement and the climate finance mechanisms will be highlighted and discussed. A special attention will be also given to possible ways to make the climate and ocean communities work together in the framework of the post 2015 regime.

Facilitator: Julian Barbière (Chief, Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, IOC-UNESCO)