Summary
The eighteenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-18) opened on 15 May 2017 at the UN Headquarters in New York, under the theme: “The effects of climate change on oceans.” In the morning, delegates heard opening remarks from: Co-Chairs Gustavo Meza-Cuadra and Kornelios Korneliou; Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs; Thomas Gass, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), on behalf of Wu Hongbo, UN DESA; Shifaana Thowfeequ, Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), on behalf of Acting Under-Secretary General Heidi Schroderus-Fox; Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly; and Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole (AHWGW) Juliette Babb-Riley and Carolyn Schwalger.
In the afternoon, Co-Chair Korneliou introduced the informal session, a discussion panel on “the effects of climate change on oceans, including environmental, social and economic implications.” Delegates heard presentations on: findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report and preparations for the Sixth Assessment; ecosystem services and climate change, including thermal adaptation; climate projections and predictions: challenges and possible solutions; the effects of climate change on the coasts of a highly vulnerable and Megadiverse Country: the case of Colombia; effects of climate change on the oceans (via webcast); and oceanic impacts on regional climate and the Argo Programme.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, is providing daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report in English and French from the 18th Meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis
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View of the dais
Co-Chair Kornelios Korneliou, Cyprus
Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly
Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
Shifaana Thowfeequ, UN Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS)
Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs
Co-Chair Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Peru
Juliette Babb-Riley, Co-Chair, Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole (AHWGW)
Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS)
Carmen Mifsud, Malta, speaking for the EU
Carolyn Schwalger, Co-Chair, AHWGW
Diedre Mills, Jamaica
Isaías Medina Mejías, Venezuela
Andi Eka Sakya, Indonesia
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group
Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China
Lucía Raffin, Argentina
Tevita Suka Mangisi, Tonga
Sesselja Sigurðardóttir, Iceland
Kate Neilson, New Zealand
Luke Daunivalu, Fiji
Delegates from Indonesia
Presentations
View of the panel during the afternoon session
Ko Barrett, Vice-Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Françoise Gaill, Committee for Marine and Coastal Research, France
Fangli Qiao, Government Secretary General and Deputy Director General, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, China
Philip Sutton, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand
Francisco Armando Arias Isaza, Institute of Marine Research, Colombia
Elva Escobar Briones, National Autonomous University of Mexico, talked about the effects of climate change on the oceans (via webcast)
Around the Venue
Sphere Within a Sphere, by Arnaldo Pomodoro
Non-Violence, by Fredrik Reuterswärd
A view of Long Island City, Queens from the UN Headquarters