Access the ANCORS Virtual Booth between Nov 6th– Nov 22nd HERE and have a chat with the ANCORS representatives.
By Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki, Farjana Hossain, and Freya Croft
The United Nations meet in different fora to negotiate regulations on climate and biodiversity. A new Marine Biodiversity Agreement is an opportunity to think climate, ocean and biodiversity together.
This blog explains the interconnections between climate, ocean and biodiversity and highlights the importance of linking these topics in governance. It introduces the new legally-binding agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) and how it relates to the existing climate and biodiversity COPs and why it is important to link climate, ocean and biodiversity politics.
How the Ocean, Biodiversity and Climate are Connected
The ocean and climate change are strongly interlinked.[1] The ocean plays a crucial role as a heat and carbon sink and contributes to slowing down climate change significantly.[2] The Ocean is the world’s largest carbon sink and has already absorbed approximately 90 percent of the heat generated by rising temperatures.[3] This excessive heat absorption creates its own peril as rising temperature and increasing acidity make the seas uninhabitable to many living organisms, disrupt ocean currents and alter food webs.[4]
As the world’s largest ecosystem, the ocean offers livelihood to a myriad of marine species – many of which are not yet known to us.[5] Climate regulation relies significantly on abundant and diverse, healthy marine ecosystems. [6] For instance, the blue carbon ecosystems (e.g. mangroves and salt marshes) and some species (e.g. mesopelagic fish) are recognised for their ability to absorb carbon and play a crucial role in carbon mitigation.[7] Protecting blue carbon ecosystems or significant marine species can help build ecosystem resilience to climate change. [8]
Climate change, resulting in increased sea temperatures, ocean acidification and deoxygenation affects marine life.[9] [10] An increase in warming, ocean acidification and oxygen loss exemplify the risks of biodiversity loss or extinction, resulting in damage or loss of ecosystem services. [11] The loss of marine biodiversity undermines ecosystems’ ability to withstand disturbances, adapt to climate change and function as a global ecological and climate regulator. [12] Therefore, urgent action is necessary to build a nexus between climate and biodiversity regulations to protect marine biodiversity from climate change and help the ocean regulate the climate cycle.
Making MPAs “climate-smart”
One pillar of the BBNJ agreement is the establishment of Area-based Management Tools (ABMTs), including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). It defines an MPA as:
“a geographically defined marine area that is designated and managed to achieve specific long-term biological diversity conservation objectives and may allow, where appropriate, sustainable use provided it is consistent with the conservation objectives.” (Art.1.9)
With the Global Biodiversity Framework,[16] governments have committed to protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 and have recently agreed on a new and evolved process to identify ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs).[17] MPAs are designed to maintain high biodiversity and habitat complexity, create opportunities for species to migrate, build ecosystem resilience and support species to adapt to climate change.[18]
Climate-smart MPAs protect or restore ecosystems to increase their resilience, i.e., the ecosystem’s ability to tolerate or adapt to climate-related ocean changes. [19] Some fundamental steps that a climate-smart MPA should include are: i) a clear conservation goal, ii) a vulnerability assessment, iii) climate change adaptation strategies and iv) continuous monitoring to understand the effectiveness of the conservation measures.[20]
The BBNJ Agreement provides a sound basis for including climate considerations in MPA design. ABMTs, including MPAs seek to enhance the productivity and health of ecosystems by strengthening resilience to stressors, including those related to climate change and ocean acidification (Art.17c). The BBNJ Agreement lists “vulnerability, including to climate change and ocean acidification” (Annex I, f), as well as “cumulative and transboundary impacts” (Annex I, q) as indicative criteria for the identification of areas. Parties are encouraged to set a clear conservation goal to develop ecosystem resilience to climate change (Art. 17c; 19.4e). The BBNJ Agreement requires MPA proposals to include a draft management plan outlining proposed monitoring, research, and review activities (Art. 17(4) (f)). A Scientific and Technical Body (STB) is tasked with monitoring and periodically reviewing the established MPAs (Art. 26.3). Based on the review report by the STB, the BBNJ COP will then discuss whether the existing MPAs should be amended, extended, or revoked (Art.26.5).
Considering climate change in Environmental Impact Assessments
The new Agreement lays out a detailed process about how to conduct environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The EIA process requires the analysis of potential impacts of the planned activities – including cumulative impacts (Art. 27c, 30ii; Art.38.1b) in the scoping (Art.31b), impact assessment and evaluation (Art.31c), as well as EIA reports (Art.33.2). Cumulative impacts include consequences of climate change, ocean acidification and related impacts (Art.1.6). As a study on including climate change considerations in national EIAs shows that most States have no such requirement, presumably due to the fact that EIA regulations date back to an era where climate change was not widely recognised.[21] The BBNJ agreement thus offers an opportunity to update requirements and contribute to more comprehensive assessments for long-term biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.
Strengthening Capacities and Technology Transfer to Understand and Address Climate Change Impacts
The BBNJ agreement provides for capacity building and the transfer of marine technology (CBTMT) to developing countries. Types of CBTMT are specified and included to understand and be able to address impacts on marine biodiversity from adverse effects of climate change, such as warming, and ocean deoxygenation, as well as ocean acidification (Annex II). Not only are developing countries at a disadvantage regarding financial, scientific and technical capacities to study, explore and exploit the ocean,[22] they are also disproportionately affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, as seen in small island developing states affected by sea-level rise, and disastrous impacts on their livelihoods and economies from climate-change driven extreme weather events and changes in their environment.[23] This carries far-reaching equity concerns that go well beyond capacity building and the transfer of technology, because developing countries are facing ’loss and damage’ from climate change impacts that industrialised countries have caused.
Implications for institutional arrangements of BBNJ
Acknowledging the interconnection of climate, ocean and biodiversity, the STB will need to include knowledge on such connections and disciplines covering climate science. Cooperation with scientific bodies within and among institutions will be necessary for data sharing.
Cooperation between the COPs in the different fields of climate (under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), biodiversity (under the Convention on Biological Diversity) and marine biodiversity (BBNJ) will be crucial. Spaces for knowledge exchange, such as the virtual pavilion, can be a start for further cooperation and collaboration among the different fora. States who are Parties to all three agreements will carry an important representation and communication role to ensure coherence in their implementation. Parties to BBNJ are required to promote the objectives of the BBNJ Treaty in decision-making processes of other fora (Art.8.2).
The BBNJ Agreement envisions a Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM) to ensure a database for marine biodiversity. It will be important to include climate data and link to existing databases to support the implementation of the BBNJ agreement. Moreover, the Clearinghouse mechanism will also benefit overall knowledge sharing on the ocean, climate impacts and possible climate solutions. [24]
ANCORS Engagement at COP29
The ANCORS Ocean Equity Research and the Blue Futures Programs will contribute to the COP29 Virtual Ocean Pavilion, organised by the Global Ocean Forum and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Aims of the Pavilion are to raise the visibility of the ocean and its importance in climate negotiations. Being a free access online platform, it promotes inclusivity of actors around the world to share and access knowledge on the interlinkages of the ocean and climate.
The pavilion provides a communication platform for those unable to participate in COP29 in person from various parts of the world. It can highlight the importance of thinking climate, ocean, and biodiversity together for a coherent governance approach and supports cross-sectoral cooperation and collaboration on ocean-climate action at the national, regional, and global levels. The focus of this year’s Virtual Pavilion is the new BBNJ agreement and its possibilities to leverage the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus and accelerate the implementation of climate-ocean-biodiversity action.
Information at the virtual booth covers various topics at the Climate-Ocean Nexus:
- The connection between the new BBNJ Treaty and climate change – The BBNJ Agreement recognises the connection between climate, ocean and biodiversity. Considerations of climate change will be integrated in EIAs and identification and establishment of ABMTs, including MPAs, as well as in the development of the scientific and technical body and the clearinghouse mechanism. BBNJ has the task to strengthen cooperation and coordination among different frameworks and bodies in areas beyond national jurisdiction – which will need to consider a connection to climate science and policy.
- Climate-smart Marine Protected Areas – Marine Protected areas under the BBNJ can be designed “climate-smart”, to enhance ecosystem resilience against climate change impacts.
- Climate change impacts on transboundary fish stocks – Climate change affects transboundary fish stocks. Therefore, climate considerations are important in fisheries science and management, as well as in political negotiations on allocations.
- Solutions for Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and Small Island Developing State Actors to address climate change impacts in tuna fisheries (and economies) – Transboundary fisheries management requires cooperative responses to climate-driven redistributions of fish stocks. The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) Vessel Day Scheme provide an example of cooperative fishery management in the Pacific.
- Equitable and Translational Approaches to Research – The research of the Blue Futures Project explores the ways in which relational and collaborative approaches to environmental governance can be applied to support a local Blue Economy. Place-based approaches are employed that respect and prioritise Indigenous knowledges and community values to develop a vision for a future ocean and address complex challenges such as climate change.
Exhibited resources at the Virtual Booth on the Ocean-Climate-Biodiversity Nexus can be accessed and discussed with ANCORS authors:
- Defining the stock structures of key commercial tunas in the Pacific Ocean I
- Defining the stock structures of key commercial tunas in the Pacific Ocean II
- Pathways to sustaining tuna-dependent Pacific Island economies during climate change
- Enhancing cooperative responses by regional fisheries management organisations to climate-driven redistribution of tropical Pacific tuna stocks
- The Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) ‘Vessel Day Scheme’: A cooperative fishery management mechanism assisting member countries to adapt to climate variability and change
- Small-scale fisheries under climate change in the Pacific Islands region
- The Pacific Island Region: Fisheries, Aquaculture and Climate Change
Access the ANCORS Virtual Booth between Nov 6th– Nov 22nd HERE and have a chat with the ANCORS representatives Dr. Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki (BBNJ and climate), Farjana Hossain (climate-smart MPAs), Dr. Freya Croft (Blue Futures) and Prof. Johann Bell (climate change impacts on tuna fisheries).
References
[1] Daniel Bodansky, ‘The Ocean and Climate Change Law: Exploring the Relationship’ in Richard Barnes and Ronán Long (eds), Frontiers in International Environmental Law: Oceans and Climate Challenges: Essays in Honour of David Freestone (Brill | Nijhoff, 2021) p 316 <https://brill.com/view/title/38675>.
[2]Ibid.
[3] United Nations, ‘How Is Climate Change Impacting the World’s Ocean’, United Nations <https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/ocean-impacts>.
[4] ‘Why Protecting the Ocean and Wetlands Can Help Fight the Climate Crisis’, UNEP (11 November 2022) <http://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-protecting-ocean-and-wetlands-can-help-fight-climate-crisis>.
[5] Danovaro R, Company JB, Corinaldesi C, D’Onghia G, Galil B, Gambi C, et al. (2010) Deep-Sea Biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea: The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable. PLoS ONE 5(8): e11832. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011832
[6] ‘The Decline of Marine Biodiversity – Ocean & Climate Platform’ (16 March 2015) <https://ocean-climate.org/en/awareness/the-decline-of-marine-biodiversity/>.
[7] Anne Merwin et al, ‘“Climate-Smart” Marine Protected Areas for Mitigation and Adaptation Policy’ [2020] Ocean Conservancy, Ocean and Climate Discussion Series p 20; Callum M Roberts et al, ‘Marine Reserves Can Mitigate and Promote Adaptation to Climate Change’ (2017) 114(24) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 6167.
[8] Anne Merwin et al, ‘“Climate-Smart” Marine Protected Areas for Mitigation and Adaptation Policy’ [2020] Ocean Conservancy, Ocean and Climate Discussion Series p 20; Callum M Roberts et al, ‘Marine Reserves Can Mitigate and Promote Adaptation to Climate Change’ (2017) 114(24) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 6167.
[9] Talukder, B, Ganguli, N, Matthew, R, vanLoon, GW, Hipel, KW & Orbinski, J 2022, ‘Climate change-accelerated ocean biodiversity loss & associated planetary health impacts’, The journal of climate change and health, vol. 6, pp. 100114-.
[10] Yadav, SS & Gjerde, KM 2020, ‘The ocean, climate change and resilience: Making ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction more resilient to climate change and other anthropogenic activities’, Marine policy, vol. 122, pp. 104184-.
[11] Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue 2023 (UNFCCC) p 10.
[12] ‘The Decline of Marine Biodiversity – Ocean & Climate Platform’ (n 5).
[13] Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, Adopted on 19 June 2023, UN Doc A/CONF.232/2023/4, (‘The BBNJ Agreement’). XXI-10 CTC (un.org)
[14] Chuanliang Wang, Min Wu. (2024). On the provisions of the BBNJ Agreement addressing the impacts of climate change. Marine Policy. Volume 171, 2025, 106429, ISSN 0308-597X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106429.
[15] Morgera, E., McQuaid, K., La Bianca, G., Niner, H., Shannon, L., Strand, M., Rees, S., Howell, K., Snow, B., Lancaster, A. M. S., & Sauer, W. (2023). Addressing the Ocean-Climate Nexus in the BBNJ Agreement: Strategic Environmental Assessments, Human Rights and Equity in Ocean Science. The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 38(3), 447-479. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718085-bja10139
[16] Convention on Biological Diversitry. Post-2020 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. (2022). Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (cbd.int)
[18] Anne Merwin et al, ‘“Climate-Smart” Marine Protected Areas for Mitigation and Adaptation Policy’ [2020] Ocean Conservancy, Ocean and Climate Discussion Series.
[19] Anne Merwin et al, ‘“Climate-Smart” Marine Protected Areas for Mitigation and Adaptation Policy’ [2020] Ocean Conservancy, Ocean and Climate Discussion Series.
[20] Kristen L Wilson et al, ‘Incorporating Climate Change Adaptation into Marine Protected Area Planning’ (2020) 26(6) Global Change Biology 3251, p 3252, 3253.
[21] Mayembe, R, Simpson, NP, Rumble, O & Norton, M 2023, ‘Integrating climate change in Environmental Impact Assessment: A review of requirements across 19 EIA regimes’, The Science of the total environment, vol. 869, pp. 161850-.
[22] Harden-Davies, H., and Gjerde, K. M. (2019). Building scientific and technological capacity: a role for benefit- sharing in the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Ocean Yearbook 33, 377–400. doi: 10.1163/9789004395633_015
[23] Adom, PK 2024, ‘The socioeconomic impact of climate change in developing countries over the next decades: A literature survey’, Heliyon, vol. 10, no. 15, pp. e35134-.
[24] Boettcher, Miranda, and Kerryn Brent. “The potential of the BBNJ clearing house mechanism to enhance knowledge pluralism in marine carbon dioxide removal assessment.” Frontiers in Climate 6: 1497476.
