The European Commission hosts the UNESCO Integrated Ocean Carbon Research workshop

Today, the European Commission, together with the EU funded project EU4OceanObs, will start the hosting of the three days working group on Integrated Ocean Carbon Research co-sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the G7 intergovernmental group on the Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (G7-FSOI), and the Ocean Decade Programme Ocean Negative Carbon Emission (ONCE).   

The event will take place from 3 to 5 May, in Brussels, and it will bring together around 100 international experts, next to researchers, and Commission policymakers, to discuss the future of integrated Ocean carbon research. The objectives of the workshop are to review the state of play of the science, identify emerging issues, knowledge gaps and/or areas to focus on considering existing activities. Next to this, the workshop will aim to articulate these points into an updated vision document, and other communications.

The ocean carbon cycle plays a crucial role in regulating Earth's climate, and it is central to the health of our planet's ecosystems. An accurate understanding of the carbon cycle is vital for effective climate and conservation policies, which are key objectives pursued by the European Green Deal priority. Under this priority, the EU research and innovation, through its funding programmes and its past and ongoing EU-funded research projects, is key to supporting and finding Ocean carbon research.

By hosting and co-sponsoring this high-level international workshop, the European Commission demonstrates its commitment to playing an active role in supporting:

• the Ocean carbon research;
• the commitments made internationally under the UN Ocean Decade of Science and Sustainable Development – aiming to ensure that ocean science can fully support countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
• the priorities, agreed in June 2019, under the G7 working group on the Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (G7-FSOI), and its 2023 action plan, for which the EU has proposed its (co-) leadership on integrated ocean carbon, digital twin ocean capacity and ocean indicators.

Background

Established in 2018, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Expert Working Group of the Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) aims at filling knowledge gaps in relation to ocean carbon by designing and promoting the implementation of a new generation of integrated ocean carbon research. The working group fosters active collaboration and synergies with relevant international efforts on carbon research, such as:  the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP); the Surface Ocean–Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS); the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR); the Global Carbon Project (GCP); the Climate and Ocean: Variability, Predictability and Change (CLIVAR); the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP); and other relevant international efforts on carbon research.

More information

EU4OceanObs event news

Polar and ocean research

European Green Deal priority

UNESCO Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R)

G7 intergovernmental group on the Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (G7-FSOI

EU funded project EU4OceanObs

Mercator Ocean International