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COP25: Blue is the new green

Rémi Parmentier – Chile was one of the original signatories to – and an ongoing supporter of – Because the Ocean, an initiative I have coordinated since its conception in 2015.

I was therefore thrilled at the announcement that Chile would host COP25, the annual gathering of some 20,000 climate negotiators and activists, which starts on December 2nd. Another reason I was thrilled was because COP25 President, Carolina Schmidt, Chile’s Environment Minister, designated the event as the Blue COP. Chile has a coastline of over 4,000 kilometres, from Patagonia to the border of Peru, and one of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the world, Chile wants COP25 to be the place where climate and ocean policy practitioners meet.

When the venue was moved to Madrid, Spain – my home of the last 35 years – the prospect of Minister Schmidt working with her Spanish counterpart, Minister Teresa Ribera – a long time ardent advocate of both climate and ocean protection, made me even happier. This is notwithstanding the concern we all share for the social situation in Chile.

COP25 – the Blue COP– will provide a unique opportunity for ocean and climate advocates to join forces and work together as never before. It is fair to say that in the past, ocean and climate experts have largely remained locked within their respective silos. Now they are coming together and connecting the dots.

In its recent Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that the ocean is warmer, more acidic and less productive as a result of climate change. The ocean is taking the heat from climate change. Literally: without the ocean’s heat trapping function there would be no life on our planet. And also figuratively:

  • increased ocean temperature is affecting marine ecosystems and the services they provide;
  • the increased concentration of CO2 is changing the chemical composition of the ocean with associated consequences for the marine food web;
  • the melting of ice sheets is causing sea level rise and associated consequences for coastal communities,
  • ocean-related extreme weather patterns are more frequent and stronger,
  • and so forth.

Read full blog.

Renee brings nearly a decade of internal operations experience to the Ocean Unite team. Prior to joining the team, Renee worked for eight years at The Pew Charitable Trusts where she began as an administrative assistant supporting their Shark, Tuna, and Whale conservation campaigns as well as the Senior Director of International Ocean Conservation. Particularly adept at identifying operational issues and developing methods to solve them, Renee moved into an operations role working across Pew’s international Ocean conservation projects, then all their environment conservation projects, and later the breadth of Pew’s programmatic work. She has degrees from California State University, San Bernardino, and Temple University in Philadelphia, and recently relocated from Washington, DC, to the California coast. As hard as this team works to protect our magnificent Ocean, Renee is the only person on the team who lives at the beach and relishes in enjoying the beauty of the Ocean every day.

Brittney is Ocean Unite’s digital and social media manager and is a consultant for Communications Inc. Comms Inc. is an agency which works with the not-for-profit sector, with a particular specialism in the ocean and wider environment. They are well known within the international ocean community and enjoy the trust of, and a working relationship with, most of the large international environmental NGOs and coalitions. Recognised for their ability to deliver fast, cost-effective and productive communications and campaigning, they are particularly valued for their strategic contribution based on a sound understanding of the issues, the political landscape within which the issues exist and a creative approach to bringing about change. (www.communicationsinc.co.uk)

One of the principals of Communications Inc., Sophie has nearly 20 years of experience in strategic communications. Comms Inc., is an agency which works with the not for profit sector, with a particular specialism in the ocean and wider environment. They are well known within the international ocean community and enjoy the trust of, and a working relationship with, most of the large international environmental NGOs and coalitions. Recognised for their ability to deliver fast, cost-effective and productive communications and campaigning, they are particularly valued for their strategic contribution based on a sound understanding of the issues, the political landscape within which the issues exist and a creative approach to bringing about change (www.communicationsinc.co.uk).

Nathalie has almost two decades of experience working in environmental advocacy. She worked for over 15 years for Greenpeace International, focusing mainly on biodiversity issues. For many years she worked as Senior Oceans Political Advisor focusing on international ocean governance and marine conservation. More recently she was the deputy director of the Political and Business Unit. She has wide experience of attending and leading delegations at international environmental meetings, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, and ocean-related negotiations at the UN General Assembly. When asked why she feels strongly about protecting the ocean, she says that not only is it home to the weirdest and most wonderful creatures on the planet, tomorrow’s life-saving drugs could be found at the bottom of the sea, not to mention the discovery of an anti-wrinkle cream that actually works!

Karen has over 25 years of experience working for international non-governmental organisations on environmental issues around the world with a particular focus on protecting marine biodiversity and building resilience to climate change. In 2015, Sack established Ocean Unite, co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and former Costa Rican President José María Figueres, to engage leadership voices and the business community to accelerate ocean health and resilience. Ocean Unite is committed to helping secure the strong protection of 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030. It has also developed a groundbreaking partnership with the insurance sector to address ocean risk.

She was senior director for international oceans at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where she developed their international oceans program including their ending illegal fishing strategy and initiated and was the managing partner of the Global Ocean Commission. Before that she was head of Greenpeace International’s political and business unit and head of their international oceans programme. In 2004, she was the first person from a non-governmental organization to speak at a regular session of the United Nations General Assembly, where she represented the concerns of over 60 environmental organizations from around the world over the plight of our oceans. Karen is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network. She has master’s degrees in international environmental law and in international political economy.