Events

"Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are in the crossfires of multiple crises: climate change, the economic and social repercussions of COVID-19, and a crisis of debt. The pandemic hugely impacted all island nations, especially those dependent on tourism. Global lockdowns left large holes in islands’ coffers and severely set back efforts to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals. Meanwhile, climate action is becoming increasingly urgent, as weather-related disasters have doubled in two decades: with island nations both most vulnerable and least responsible. At this time of great peril, opportunity must be seized. In Antigua and Barbuda in May 2024, the international community will gather to review SIDS’ sustainable development progress and propose a new decade of partnerships and solutions to supercharge their path to resilient prosperity. For more information and registration, see the link."

The European Maritime Day (EMD) is the annual two-day event during which Europe’s maritime community meet to network, discuss and outline joint action on maritime affairs and sustainable blue economy. The EMD is the place where ‘Ocean Leaders Meet’. It provides an engaging and completely interactive experience to catch up on the current state of play on a broad range of issues concerning the blue economy and the marine environment and to discuss ways of moving forward.

The 60th UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) will be meeting for ten days in Bonn, Germany. The SBTA is one of two permanent subsidiary bodies to the Convention established by the Convention of the Parties (COP)/Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). It supports the work of the COP, the CMP, and the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) through the provision of timely information and advice on scientific and technological matters as they relate to the Convention, its Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement.

An annual event from the national Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2024 calls upon leaders from all walks of life to come together to drive attention and innovation to protect our ocean and center people at the core of ocean solutions. Together, we will explore international, national, and local communities and the traditional and new ways they are adapting to a changing climate, saving and protecting species, and sustaining their relationships with the ocean for a brighter, sustainable, and equitable future.

In advance of the Third UN Ocean Conference in June 2025, the government of Costa Rice will convene a stakeholder meeting to generate national, regional, and global solutions in an inclusive manner, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders. The meeting will serve as a platform for the exchange of best practices and successful experiences related to ocean governance and health. It aims to highlight topics of global significance on the ocean agenda and drive specific implementation actions to address the severe environmental crisis it faces.

World Ocean Day catalyzes collective action for a healthy ocean and a stable climate, working in collaboration with youth leaders and a wide range of organizations. World Ocean Day belongs to all groups and individuals, collectively, everywhere. It’s about how we can create a better future with an abundant ocean and a stable climate, by working together.

The Council, the Global Environment Facility's main governing body, is comprised of 32 members appointed by constituencies of GEF member countries (14 from developed countries, 16 from developing countries, and two from economies in transition). Council members rotate at different intervals determined by each constituency. The Council customarily meets twice annually but has decided to meet three times in 2024. It develops, adopts, and evaluates the operational policies and programs for GEF-financed activities, and reviews and approves the work program (projects submitted for approval), making decisions by consensus.

The Fifth Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development will bring together multi-disciplinary stakeholders from governments, international organizations, academia and research institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and others to discuss the progress and future pathways towards sustainable ocean development. The event will consider the role of complex, trans-disciplinary approaches in moving towards a sustainable blue economy, including sessions on sustainable ocean planning and environmental economic accounting.

The European Coral Reef Symposium (ECRS) aims to pursue within Europe, and among reef scientists based in or visiting Europe, the Missions and Aims of the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS). The ECRS is held every four years and hosted in European countries on a rotating basis by the European Chapter of the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) . ECRS 2024 will be held in Naples, Italy at the Città della Scienza and at the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station. For this edition of ECRS, energies will concentrate on bridging knowledge gaps between tropical, temperate, and cold-water coral reefs.The symposium will bring together coral reef scientists, researchers, conservationists, policymakers and reef managers to present the latest research findings and exchange current knowledge critical to advising international and national policies in the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs.

The Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Summit will serve as a global platform for small-scale fisheries movements to engage with governments and other small-scale fisheries advocates in an accessible and non-technical forum to collaboratively address governance and development challenges in small-scale fisheries while proposing and sharing solutions to foster and strengthen the implementation of the SSF Guidelines.

The Immersed in Change meeting will serve as a platform for the exchange of best practices and successful experiences related to ocean governance and health. It aims to highlight topics of global significance on the ocean agenda and drive specific implementation actions to address the severe environmental crisis it faces. Eight international panels will address fishing resources, the fight against ghost fishing gear, the blue economy, satellite technology for ocean conservation and sustainable use, promoting global access to ocean cleanup technologies, scientific developments to address marine plastic pollution, the effective implementation of global agreements, and the mobilization of necessary and available resources and financial mechanisms for ocean health and governance.

The 36th Session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Committee on Fisheries (COFI 36) will convene in July 2024. The Committee on Fisheries (COFI) is a subsidiary body of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Council and was established by the FAO Conference at its 13th session in 1965. The Committee is a global intergovernmental forum where major international fisheries and aquaculture problems and issues are examined and recommendations addressed to governments, regional fishery bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), fishworkers, FAO, and the international community. COFI has also been used as a forum to negotiate global agreements and non-binding instruments.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is the organization through which States parties to the Convention organize and control activities in the seabed, ocean floor, and subsoil beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. At annual sessions of the ISA, representatives from its member States meet to discuss and formulate the work of the Authority and its Secretariat. Negotiations are underway to develop rules, regulations, and procedures (RRPs) relating to commercial exploitation of mineral resources from the deep sea.

The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meet annually to develop collective responses to regional issues and deliver on their vision for a resilient Pacific Region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, that ensures all Pacific peoples can lead free, healthy and productive lives. Leaders will convene, engage in discussions and agree on policies that will ultimately benefit the people of the region. This gathering is a unique opportunity for Leaders to address pressing issues and challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent, and foster collaboration and cooperation in the pursuit of shared goals.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main policy-making organ of the Organization. Comprising all Member States, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations. Each of the 193 Member States of the United Nations has an equal vote. The 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79) will open on Tuesday, 10 September 2024. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be Tuesday, 24 September 2024.

Every September, Climate Group organizes Climate Week NYC, gathering tens of thousands of people to drive climate action. Together, we challenge the status quo, create ideas, influence, inspire, and energize each other. Climate Week NYC 2024 is putting a spotlight on inspiring businesses, organizations and governments that are already driving momentum. Together, we’ll convince hesitant companies and governments to act by showing what can be done and break down barriers to progress.

The Waters Conference (IWC) is the signature event of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) IW Portfolio. The IWC objectives are to facilitate cross-sectoral and GEF IW Portfolio-wide learning and experience sharing. They strive to solicit advice from the existing GEF IW Portfolio on burning issues and to assist in building participant capacity in key management and technical areas. Participants sum up progress achieved and look to the future of programming within and beyond the GEF IW Focal Area. The nine previous conferences were held in Morocco, Sri Lanka, Barbados, Croatia, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, China, and Hungary.

The Global Nature Positive Summit 2024 aims to bring together: climate, environment, and finance ministers; private sector leaders; Indigenous groups, including Australia’s First Nations peoples; scientists and academics; and community leaders to drive private sector investment to protect and repair the environment. The Summit aims to inform the design of nature positive activities. The Government of Australia and the Government of New South Wales will host the first Global Nature Positive Summit. The Summit will also share guidance for investors and project developers to encourage partnerships for developing country projects.

The 7th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC7) will be held from 13-18 October, 2024, in Cape Town, South Africa. The meeting is the Society for Conservation Biology Marine Program’s main event in the calendar and is held every two years. The overall theme of IMCCs is Making Marine Science Matter. For marine conservation to be effective, marine conservation science must matter to stakeholders, policy makers, and practitioners. IMCC seeks to engage everyone involved in marine conservation to share ideas and promote action for the long term health of our oceans.

At the COP 16 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), governments will be tasked with reviewing the state of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Parties to the Convention are expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the Framework. COP 16 will further develop the monitoring framework and advance resource mobilization for the Global Biodiversity Framework. Among other tasks, COP 16 is also due to finalize and operationalize the multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

By convening impact investors to facilitate knowledge exchange, highlighting innovative investment approaches, building the evidence base for the industry, and producing valuable tools and resources, the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) seeks to accelerate the industry's development through focused leadership and collective action. Ultimately, the GIIN focuses on reducing barriers to impact investment so more investors can allocate capital to fund solutions to the world's most intractable challenges. We do this by building critical infrastructure and developing activities, education, and research that help accelerate the development of a coherent impact investing industry.

Hosted by American Clean Power, this event is dedicated to convening top developers, government officials, and key stakeholders across the industry who are working to achieve the full promise of U.S. offshore wind.

The COP 29 United Nations Climate Change Conference intends to host a series of high-level political convenings to assess barriers to NDC development, including meetings during the Germany-hosted 15th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, the 60th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SBs), the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), and a special session at the opening of the 29th session of the Conference Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 29). These meetings will discuss the “quantity and quality of support needed” to ensure that the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the next round of which is due in 2025, can deliver just climate transitions aligned with the 1.5°C goal. The Presidencies will also work with “key thematic and political platforms” such as the Group of 20 (G20), “to channel existing knowledge and resources towards ambitious NDC development."

The 12th World Congress of Ocean is intended to provide a platform for professionals around the world to exchange state-of-the-art research and development and identify research needs and opportunities in the field of Ocean. WCO-2024 covers a wide range of topics related to the ocean economy, maritime law, ocean engineering, ocean energy, green ports, shipping and modern shipbuilding, marine management and environmental protection, and ocean science. The program highlights some recent breakthrough stories and successes in this field. Over the conference period, you will have opportunities to share information and the best face to face to practices business leaders, academic researchers and government agents around the world. It serves as a great opportunity to find global partners and build up research and business relations. The three-day conference is an effective series of activities such as a scientific program, exhibitions, posters, and tours.

"The eleventh session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES 11) will consider the assessment on interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health and the transformative change assessment. IPBES is the intergovernmental body that assesses the state of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides to society, in response to requests from decision makers."