As the 2026 Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue kicks off in Bonn, Germany, a group of 20 actors from civil society organizations (CSOs) is calling to strengthen the Dialogue – the only dedicated ocean space under the UNFCCC. While it has placed the ocean within the Convention’s solution landscape, these actors see a need for the Dialogue to play a clearer role in informing negotiations and shaping political outcomes. With the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 31) approaching, and both the Australian and Turkish co-Presidencies signaling strong support for the ocean, there is an opportunity to enhance the Dialogue.

The story behind the dialogue

As COP 25 President, Chile sought to make COP 25 a “Blue COP,” pushing for greater recognition of the ocean within the UNFCCC. That ambition led to an historic outcome: for the first time, in 2019, the ocean was referenced in the final decision of a UNFCCC COP. A mandate was established to launch a “dialogue on the ocean and climate change.” Convened under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) that supports implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, it signaled a clear shift from problem identification to problem solution. Momentum quickly followed and, at COP 26 in Glasgow, UK, parties made the dialogue annual.

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The Dialogue was not designed as a separate “ocean track” within negotiations, but as a mechanism to integrate the ocean across the climate agenda. Work programmes and constituted bodies were invited to embed ocean-based action into their workplans and report progress, reflecting a political choice to avoid creating a new agenda item. This choice continues to resonate today. As the climate regime shifts from negotiation to implementation, adding new layers risks overloading an already crowded agenda, creating unnecessary complexity and slowing action. 

The Dialogue today: Progress, strengths, and opportunities ahead

The Dialogue has become a valuable space for advancing ocean-based action – highlighting what has helped parties protect coastal ecosystems, strengthen resilience to sea-level rise, or develop sustainable ocean economies. In 2024 alone, it featured more than 300 case studies. It is now widely recognized as a key platform where countries can share implementation successes, challenges, and needs.

The next step is to strengthen how these insights will inform the climate process. While the Dialogue already contributes meaningfully to knowledge sharing, there is scope to enhance its role in driving policy integration. Doing so would help fully deliver the COP 26 mandate, ensuring the Dialogue helps connect proven solutions to the mechanisms that can scale them. In this sense, it would also stress that integration is not an end in itself, but a practical lever to unlock the resources the Convention can provide to accelerate ocean-based climate action.

Setting the course for the Dialogue

While the Dialogue has already made strong progress, a long-term strategic vision would further enhance its continuity, coherence, and impact. Against this backdrop, momentum is growing for a roadmap for the Dialogue – a proposal already reflected in the 2025 Dialogue conclusions. To avoid launching a formal negotiation process, the co-facilitators could prepare an initial draft, in collaboration with the COP Presidency.

Beyond strategic direction, the roadmap could help track progress, identify gaps, and adjust course – insights that could ultimately feed into the Global Stocktake (GST). For that to happen, it should be aligned with the Paris Agreement cycle and supported by stronger institutional memory, ensuring lessons are retained beyond individual sessions. A dedicated knowledge management system could help build on conclusions, while making best practices easier to access and use. 

Strengthening participation and engagement

While well attended, there is still potential to make the Dialogue more engaging for negotiators. So far, leadership on ocean and climate has been driven by a handful of countries. Broadening this engagement is essential to enhance political momentum and better reflect the diversity of national contexts. A roadmap could support this dynamic by making the process more strategic and predictable, including through clearer priority setting and earlier circulation of materials. 

At the same time, participation across the UNFCCC architecture remains limited, without consistent engagement in the Dialogue from relevant work programmes and constituted bodies. A practical step forward could be the designation of ocean focal points within these bodies to enhance coordination while helping translate ocean-based action into day-to-day work across the UNFCCC. In addition, a more permanent coordination mechanism could help ensure ocean issues are addressed in a more coherent and systematic way across workplans.

Expanding the reach of the Dialogue’s conclusions

The Dialogue does not end in Bonn. Its value lies in carrying findings into climate processes, where they can help shape ambition and outcomes. Each year, co-facilitators produce an informal summary report – not only documenting solutions, but also outlining key messages which, in time, have become increasingly targeted and strategic. The priority is now to ensure these messages are effectively taken up. For example, during the GST discussions, co-facilitator Julio Cordano (Chile) presented the Dialogue’s conclusions to negotiators, contributing to the inclusion of ocean language in the final outcome. 

Realizing this potential will require further strengthening how the Dialogue’s outputs are developed and carried forward. Reports are typically released only weeks before COPs, leaving little time to absorb and build ownership of messages. As a complement, co-facilitators could develop a concise non-paper, prepared in collaboration with the COP Presidency, to capture the Dialogue’s key messages and outline how they could be carried forward. These conclusions must not stop at the boundaries of the UNFCCC and should inform discussions in other spaces, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to enhance concrete synergies.

All eyes on the 2026 Dialogue

The 2026 Dialogue rests on a strong and trusted foundation. Its informal format has enabled open exchanges and detailed reporting, where solutions can be explored beyond the constraints of formal negotiations. The next step is to expand its strategic role – not by changing its nature, but by better connecting it to UNFCCC processes for its insights to be more consistent in shaping the debate. With both COP 31 co-Presidencies signaling strong interest in advancing ocean priorities, there is a window of opportunity to move the Dialogue forward, while ensuring it serves as a stepping stone toward the Pacific Pre-COP and COP 31 – helping to shape the narrative, align priorities, and build momentum toward concrete ocean outcomes.

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List of authors/signatories: 

  • Anna-Marie Laura, Ocean Conservancy
  • Emily Goodwin, Rare
  • Fred Kung’u, African Group of Negotiators Expert Support
  • Gauthier Carle, Ocean & Climate Platform
  • Gerald Miles, Wildlife Conservation Society
  • Jessie Turner, International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification
  • Luz Gil, The Nature Conservancy
  • Maddie Millington-Drake, Blue Marine Foundation
  • Maike Nicolai, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
  • Marine Lecerf, Ocean & Climate Platform
  • Marinez Scherer, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil and Special Envoy for the Ocean at COP30
  • Matt Collis, International Fund for Animal Welfare
  • Micheline Khan, World Resources Institute
  • Pauli Merriman, WWF-International
  • Ramakrishna Kilaparti, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
  • Romain Troublé, Ocean & Climate Platform and Tara Ocean Foundation
  • Sofia Sadogurska, Ecoaction (CAN Ocean subgroup)
  • Tom Brook, WWF-UK
  • Tom Pickerell, World Resources Institute
  • Torsten Thiele, Global Ocean Trust