UN Ocean Decade Conference 2025 off-site side event hosted by ICOS, JPI Oceans & Ocean Frontier Institute .
Date & time: 12 June 2025, 14:00-16:00
Location: Le Théâtre de la Semeuse, 2 Mnt Auguste Kerl, 06300 Nice, France,
How to participate: The event is open to anyone and free-of-charge. Due to limited capacity, registration is required. Register here.
About
The ocean is the largest carbon sink on Earth, absorbing a quarter of anthropogenic CO₂. Yet the ocean carbon value chain is under immense strain: gaps in observation, declining data quality, and fragilities regarding core measurement standards limit its impact on climate policy.
This side event builds on the 2023 Ostend Declaration to connect scientific progress with the systems needed to support it - governance, funding, innovation, and collaboration.
It will highlight updates on developing a global ocean carbon observing system and explore how to translate science into action through data management, innovation, public policy, and capacity building. Cross-sector experts will outline next steps to strengthen the value chain and accelerate climate solutions.
Programme
- Overview of the Oostende Declaration and the current challenges in ocean data value chain (5 min)
- Interactive panel discussion (25 min)
- Lightning talks focusing on inspiring case studies in data management, innovation, capacity building and public policy. (25 min)
- Questions from audience and closing remarks (30 min)
Speakers and panelists
The highly interactive panel will consist of leading experts from across the ocean observing and climate science communities. Together, they will offer perspectives from research, policy, and system governance to address critical gaps in the ocean carbon value chain.
Expert panel
- Dr Anya Waite, CEO and Scientific Director, Ocean Frontier Institute
- Dr Werner Kutsch, Director General, ICOS ERIC
- Dr Toste Tanhua, Senior Scientist, GEOMAR
The panel will be moderated by Ronnie Noonan-Birch from Ocean Frontier Institute. The introductory keynote will be given by Dr Richard Sanders, Director of the ICOS Ocean Thematic Centre.
Participate
This event is free-of-charge and open to everyone. The Theatre de la Semeuse is located approximately 15–20 minutes on foot from the main conference site. Due to limited capacity, registration is required.
Register here
This event is hosted by ICOS, JPI Oceans & Ocean Frontier Institute and co-hosted by Institute of Oceanology PAN (IOPAN), NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and Ifremer.
This event has been funded by the GEORGE project, which has received funding from European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement no.101094716.