Unpacking Ocean Finance for Climate Action: A Roadmap for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
ORRAA, together with the Ocean & Climate Platform and supported by the Blue Marine Foundation, Global Ocean Trust, The Nature Conservancy, and the UN Global Compact, have launched a background briefing paper that provides a roadmap for ocean-related climate finance.
Ocean-based solutions are now widely recognised as critical to achieving climate goals, not only by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions but also by enhancing resilience and addressing loss and damage in marine ecosystems. Integrating these solutions into climate finance offers several key opportunities for UNFCCC Parties to strengthen climate action commitments:
- Developing Ocean Climate Finance Standards: Establish a clear, standardised methodology for defining and tracking ocean-related climate finance, with tailored guidance for UNFCCC Parties and relevant bodies, such as the Standing Committee on Finance.
- Enhancing the Ocean Focus in the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG): Encourage developing countries to articulate ocean-based needs and priorities within their climate plans and strategies to enable climate finance channels to focus on policy-based financing for ocean-centred actions.
- Prioritising Ocean Responses in the Loss & Damage Fund: Guide the Loss & Damage Fund Board to consider ocean-related responses as a priority, with specific indicators and policies that address the unique impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems.
- Counting Quantified Ocean Targets in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): Advocate for quantified ocean measures in NDCs to attract funding, track progress, and strengthen ocean-based action through the Annual Global Stocktake (GST) Dialogue.
- Embedding the Ocean in the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA): Integrate ocean-focused indicators within the GGA, aligning these with biodiversity and sustainable development goals. This approach will support comprehensive tracking of ocean-based adaptation and financing needs.
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Ocean action is now widely recognised as climate action. Yet, the share of climate finance allocated to ocean-based solutions has been insufficient, limiting the potential to fully leverage these solutions.