On Thursday, participants of the Ocean Risk Summit met throughout the day to hear keynote speakers report on the changing ocean, building resilience, including through education, innovation, and exploration, and on ocean risk solutions, including their financing.  

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco outlined the main ocean-related challenges, stressing the need to holistically consider our development model, taking into account that a sustainable future “demands the reconciliation of humankind’s aspirations with the needs of the natural environment.” H.E. Ambassador Marlene Moses, Nauru, urged the financial institutions to invest in emissions’ reduction and towards building resilience.

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, underscored that under the Canadian Presidency, the Group of Seven (G7) will work towards securing sustainable ocean management.

In the morning, participants split in five working groups to focus on:

• Natural capital and ecosystem services;
• Cities, islands, coastal infrastructure and tourism;
• Regenerating ocean life;
• Fishing and aquaculture; and
• Marine pollution, including litter and plastics

Highlights of the day included:

• An announcement of a new partnership between the Nature Conservancy and XL Catlin for a breakthrough project on blue carbon credits, combining benefits from coastal resilience and carbon sequestration
• Advanced discussions on building an Ocean Risk Index
• Concrete recommendations from the working groups, including on: using open data to make SDG14 the most transparent of all SDGs.
• Arctic educator Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop, Digital Explorer, meeting with participants via webcast to discuss the various live, educational programmes to engage students with scientists in the field
• Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission, emphasizing, via webcast, the 14 Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Principles developed in collaboration by the European Commission, WWF, the Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit, and the European Investment Bank, to guide investment in the blue economy
• Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder, addressing the Summit via webcast, to emphasize the role of businesses, countries’ commitments, and the need for technological breakthroughs to speed up the transition towards a sustainable future

In the evening, participants continued to network and exchange ideas informally during a dinner reception.