Blue Action at COP30: Driving Ocean-Climate Solutions in Brazil
- Naima Taafaki-Fifita
- Oct 14
- 9 min read
Updated: Nov 3
This year, the Ocean remains a central focus at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, with the Ocean Dialogue serving as a crucial platform for sharing knowledge, highlighting initiatives, and advancing Ocean-based climate action (OBCA). Protecting the Ocean is no longer just an environmental or economic issue – it is a matter of climate stability, human rights and the survival of millions of coastal and island communities.
Keywords: Climate Justice, Ocean Guardianship, COP30, Ocean Literacy, Human Rights
Credit: Khánh Phan / Ocean Image Bank / Mangrove Photography Awards
The Ocean’s Role in Climate and Humanity
The Ocean covers approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the planet’s water. It absorbs nearly 90% of the excess heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions and about a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions. These processes have provided humanity with a buffer against the worst effects of climate change, but they come at a cost. Ocean warming, acidification and rising sea levels threaten marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of 680 million people currently living in low-lying coastal areas and small island states – a number projected to exceed 1 billion by 2050.
The stakes are high. A healthy Ocean regulates the climate, supports biodiversity and sustains fish populations that millions rely on for food and income. Conversely, a degraded Ocean exacerbates climate risks, weakens ecosystem services and disproportionately impacts communities that are least able to adapt. Protecting the Ocean is therefore a prerequisite not only for meeting climate commitments but also for upholding human rights, including the rights to life, food, water and housing.
Legal Foundations for Ocean-Climate Action
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Hamburg
The governance of Ocean-climate interactions is anchored in a network of international legal frameworks, with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) providing the comprehensive juridical foundation.
UNCLOS delineates the rights and duties of States regarding maritime zones, navigation and stewardship of the marine environment. It imposes obligations to protect and preserve the marine environment, prevent, reduce and control pollution, and assess potential impacts of activities under States’ jurisdiction – all directly relevant to addressing the adverse effects of climate change (ITLOS, COSIS Advisory Opinion 2024 [1]). The Convention also governs the sustainable management of marine life, including highly migratory and straddling fish populations, which are increasingly threatened by warming waters, shifting ecosystems and Ocean acidification.
Importantly, UNCLOS recognises the special needs of Global South States, including small island and geographically disadvantaged States, by supporting marine scientific research, capacity-building and participation in the use of marine life and the deep seabed area. By doing so, it promotes sustainability, equity and resilience in responding to climate change.
Alongside UNCLOS, climate treaties such as the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement explicitly acknowledge the Ocean’s role in climate stability. The Paris Agreement’s preamble, for example, underscores the “importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including Oceans, and the protection of biodiversity,” while highlighting climate justice as a guiding principle. Together, these instruments establish the Ocean as a central actor in both climate mitigation and adaptation, providing States with a legal framework to embed Ocean-based solutions into their nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
Advancing Ocean Action Through COP Dialogues
Since COP25, the UNFCCC has institutionalised the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue, a platform designed to promote Ocean-based climate action (OBCA) through knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and policy innovation. COP25’s inaugural dialogue, “Chile Madrid: Time for Action,” drew on scientific insights, particularly from the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, and submissions from Parties and stakeholders. It set the stage for formal recognition of the Ocean’s role in climate governance.
Building on this, COP26 launched the first session of the official Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue series, recognising the need to deepen understanding of Ocean-climate intersections and integrate these priorities into national climate strategies. Discussions focused on enabling Ocean-based solutions, mobilising financial and technical support and highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate change on coastal and Ocean-dependent communities.
Despite progress, critical gaps remain.
The dialogue must move beyond knowledge-sharing to actively support the implementation of nationally determined contributions, helping embed recommendations into national policies, finance strategies and adaptation plans.
Key Messages for Ocean-Based Climate Action
One of the landmark outcomes of these dialogues is the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue Report, which identifies ten messages for advancing OBCA:
Protect the Ocean and recognise its potential as a site for sustainable climate solutions.
Promote Ocean-based mitigation and adaptation strategies as central to national policies.
Integrate marine technology with nature-based solutions for robust and cost-effective outcomes.
Ground action in both scientific evidence and traditional knowledge systems.
Adopt a whole-of-society approach, including governance and legal frameworks.
Increase funding and improve access for Ocean-climate initiatives.
Strengthen capacity-building and encourage innovative, multidisciplinary solutions.
Foster collaborative frameworks across UN processes for institutional support.
Deep-dive into specific topics in future dialogues to inform national and international strategies.
Embed Ocean protection within broader climate, biodiversity, and sustainable development goals.
These messages have shaped the “blueing the Paris Agreement” initiative, signalling ongoing efforts to link Ocean protection with climate innovation and human rights. (Explore the 2025 Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue: Informal Summary Report here.)
The Human Rights Dimension
States have overarching obligations under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, as well as other rights affected by environmental harm, including those connected to the Ocean. These duties encompass: a) preventing, controlling and reducing harm to marine ecosystems; b) ensuring access to information, public participation and access to justice in Ocean governance; c) restoring degraded marine environments; and d) engaging in meaningful cooperation with other States (ICJ, Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change 2025; IACtHR, Advisory Opinion on the human rights obligations of States in the context of the climate emergency 2025 [2]). Framing Ocean governance through a human rights lens reinforces the normative shift that links environmental protection with the realisation of fundamental rights, underscoring the responsibility of States to integrate human rights standards into Ocean-climate action.
The Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment has highlighted the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution as compounding threats to marine ecosystems and human rights. Climate change drives irreversible impacts on the Ocean, including warming, acidification, sea-level rise and increasingly intense marine heatwaves, jeopardising the rights of Indigenous Peoples, fisher communities, women, children and other vulnerable or marginalised groups. Immediate action is needed to phase out fossil fuel reliance, safeguard vulnerable marine habitats and align Ocean activities with climate and biodiversity targets.
Recent international judicial guidance reinforces these obligations. In March 2023, the UN General Assembly requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on States’ climate obligations. The Court clarified that States bear legal responsibilities to protect both human rights and the Ocean under international law. Rising seas threaten territorial integrity and maritime zones, but UNCLOS protections remain in place. Climate change’s effects—ranging from sea-level rise to extreme weather—directly undermine fundamental rights, including the rights to life, health, adequate housing, food, water, and the specific rights of women, children, and Indigenous Peoples. The ICJ affirmed that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is essential for the enjoyment of all other human rights, establishing a clear legal link between Ocean protection and human rights fulfillment.
Building on this, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) Advisory Opinion 32/35 explicitly linked climate impacts to the realisation of human rights. It clarified that States must: a) protect Nature, including the Ocean, from climate change impacts; and b) establish strategies advancing sustainable development. The Court highlighted the Ocean as a critical component of the global climate system, emphasising that climate disruption profoundly affects marine and coastal ecosystems, which function as life-support systems for humanity and Nature alike. By framing climate action as a legal duty, the IACtHR underscores that safeguarding the Ocean is inseparable from protecting human rights and fulfilling States’ obligations under international law, recognising the right to a healthy environment as a right of humanity. Additionally, the IACtHR confirmed that the right to a healthy environment is not just a right of humanity, but of Nature, including the Ocean, as a legal interest in itself.
Together, the ICJ and IACtHR opinions provide a robust legal foundation for Ocean-based climate action (OBCA) at COP30 and beyond.
They confirm that protecting the Ocean is not merely an environmental or human imperative, but also a legal obligation recognising the Ocean as a legal interest in its own right.
This obligation stems from the Ocean’s intrinsic value: its role in regulating the climate, sequestering carbon, generating oxygen, sustaining marine and coastal ecosystems, and underpinning life on Earth. For negotiators and policymakers, this framework strengthens the case for integrating Ocean protection into NDCs, adaptation plans, and broader climate strategies, while ensuring that vulnerable communities are central to decision-making processes.
Looking Ahead to COP30
COP 30 main pavilion
For COP30 in Belém, the vision is clear: accelerate OBCA by turning ambition into action. Key priorities include:
Integrating Ocean measures into NDCs (Blue NDCs): Encouraging States to translate Ocean-based solutions into concrete climate commitments.
Enhancing resilience and adaptation: Supporting communities and ecosystems to withstand climate impacts.
Strengthening cross-sectoral synergies: Aligning climate, biodiversity, and Ocean governance for integrated outcomes.
Indigenous and local communities, especially in small island and coastal regions, must be central to these efforts. Co-developing policy positions, convening side events, and advancing Ocean Guardianship ensures that culturally grounded, community-led solutions shape global policy. Legal support, technical assistance and pavilion-based dialogues can strengthen visibility and legitimacy for these interventions, framing Ocean stewardship as a governance principle rooted in law, culture, and intergenerational equity.
COP30 is a pivotal moment: the Ocean is no longer a backdrop to climate negotiations – it is a linchpin.
The question for negotiators is not whether to act, but how to implement tangible, Ocean-centered climate solutions that protect ecosystems, safeguard human rights, and secure a sustainable future for all.
What Can We Ask for at COP30?
As COP30 approaches, negotiators have a unique opportunity to translate Ocean-climate ambition into tangible action. Based on international legal frameworks, scientific findings and best practices highlighted from previous Ocean Dialogues, some concrete priorities include:
Explicit Integration of the Ocean in NDCs
Encourage States to include Ocean-based mitigation and adaptation measures directly in their NDCs (create Blue NDCs).
Promote measurable targets for reducing emissions from shipping, advancing offshore renewable energy and protecting blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes.
Strengthened Ocean Guardianship and Governance
Support Indigenous and local communities in co-developing policy positions, submissions, and side events.
Recognise community-led stewardship as a legitimate and essential contribution to climate action.
Embed Ocean Guardianship principles into COP outcome documents, linking law, culture and intergenerational equity.
Enhanced Financial and Technical Support
Commit to scaling up accessible climate finance for small island and coastal states to implement Ocean-based solutions.
Support capacity-building initiatives that integrate local knowledge systems with scientific expertise.
Incentivise public-private partnerships for sustainable Ocean innovation, ensuring finance mechanisms are inclusive, equitable and transparent.
Legal Accountability and Rule of Law
Reference international obligations under UNCLOS, the Paris Agreement and human rights law in COP decisions.
Encourage States to report on compliance with Ocean protection commitments and adopt due diligence measures to prevent marine pollution and ecosystem degradation.
Promote the use of litigation and advisory opinions (ICJ, ITLOS, IACtHR) as tools for accountability, guiding States toward legally grounded climate action.
Cross-Sectoral Synergies and Science-Policy Integration
Foster stronger linkages between climate, biodiversity, fisheries and Ocean governance agendas.
Incorporate both Western and Indigenous knowledge systems to create holistic, evidence-based solutions.
Future-Focused Ocean Dialogues
Establish formal mechanisms to translate dialogue conclusions into national climate plans and NDCs, including clear responsibilities, timelines and indicators for implementation.
Structure the Ocean Dialogue around thematic tracks (such as blue carbon finance, sustainable marine technology and ecosystem restoration) so that discussions yield concrete recommendations and actionable strategies rather than general knowledge exchange
Promote consistent follow-up mechanisms to track progress, share lessons learned and inform COP31 and beyond.
OVL’s Call to Action
COP30 offers a critical opportunity to move from rhetoric to implementation. The Ocean is not just a repository for carbon or a site for economic opportunity, but a living system, a climate regulator and a protector of human rights. By anchoring negotiations in OBCA, human rights and community-led stewardship, COP30 can set a precedent for integrating the Ocean into global climate governance as a core pillar, not an afterthought.
Our ask is clear: recognise the Ocean as central to climate action, provide the resources to protect it, and ensure that those who depend on it are at the table in every decision. The stakes could not be higher – but so too is the opportunity – to safeguard the Ocean, uphold human rights, and secure a resilient, sustainable future for generations to come.
References:
[1] International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS Advisory Opinion), 21 May 2024.
[2] International Court of Justice (ICJ), Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change, 23 July 2025; InterAmerican Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), Advisory Opinion AO-32/25 on the human rights obligations of States in the context of the climate emergency, 29 May 2025.
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