Cop28 and UN unveil $72 billion ocean conservation plan 

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• Oceans Breakthrough aims to protect 30% of world’s seas
• Initiative spans shipping, tourism, renewables and other sectors
• Target to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2050

The UN, Cop28 and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have jointly launched a $72 billion initiative to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s oceans.

The Oceans Breakthrough strategy was announced by Razan Al Mubarak, president of the IUCN and one of the UAE’s UN climate change champions for Cop28.

As well as the planned investment for conservation, the initiative aims to install at least 380 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity and secure further finance to develop renewable energy projects in developing countries.  

Other targets are to upskill 450,000 seafarers, create climate-resilient ports, develop sustainable coastal tourism and increase the use of zero-emission fuels in global shipping to 5 percent.

There are also plans to invest an initial $4 billion per year to improve food security for 3 billion people, the parties said.

They did not detail where the financing would come from. 

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The measures are projected to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 35 percent by 2050 and deliver biodiversity gains. 

The strategy is intended to be adopted by governments as a “compass” for their climate change action, and inform the UN’s global stocktake of progress made against the 2015 Paris Agreement at Cop28 this year. 

“Our very survival, from our daily bread and water to protection from extreme weather events, hinges upon healthy ocean ecosystems,” Al Mubarak said. 

The initiative is the result of work by the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action.