Cancún Oceans Day Results

Cancún Oceans Day was organized by the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands, in association with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Secretaries of Environment and Natural Resources of the Mexican States of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan, and the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), Mexico, in collaboration with other partners. This event was the second Oceans Day to be held in the UNFCCC context (see summary of Oceans Day at Copenhagen 2009) and brought together over 90 participants including representatives of governments, international organizations, business, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Cancún Oceans Day was part of the Rio Conventions’ Ecosystems and Climate Change Pavilion, organized by the CBD, UNFCCC, and UNCCD.

Cancun Oceans Day emphasized that, if there are not sufficient cuts in greenhouse emissions within a short time frame, the world’s oceans will facedisastrous consequences, which will compromise their role in absorbing carbon dioxide and in regulating climate.  Coastal and island  communities in 183 coastal nations around the world will suffer disproportionately from impacts such as sea level rise, glacial retreat, coral bleaching, extreme weather events, and ocean acidification.

Climate change effects in coastal areas and oceans are already with us, and we must take bold action to address the negative consequences, especially through rapid and adequate financing for vulnerable coastal communities, as well as mobilize to transform our societies to carbon-free economies, including through ocean-based renewable energy and the use of natural carbon sinks in coastal areas.

Attachments:
1.   The Summary Report of Cancun Oceans Day prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development
2.  The Co-Chairs’ Statement emanating from Cancun Oceans Day