On June 10 2024, the MENA Oceans Summit by Goumbook, under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, brought together over 250 regional and global stakeholders in the lead up to the United Nations Ocean Conference 2025, Nice; to highlight regional perspectives, achievements and opportunities around the key themes of ocean governance, science and sustainable blue economies. High level discussions and presentations provided insights into the need for adopting a regional lens to develop sector specific blue economy frameworks and the importance of bridging the gap between science-policy-industry-funding to accelerate the pace of ocean action.
With decarbonisation of the maritime sector at the center of these discussions, MENA Oceans Summit partners, DP World, convened a sectoral deep dive on maritime and shipping as an extension of these dialogues, moderated by the UN Climate Change High Level Champions Team and Roland Berger as Insights Partner.
The workshop convened stakeholders including government representatives, industry leaders, value chain experts, environmental specialists, and NGOs to address the critical issue of reducing carbon emissions from maritime transport while ensuring sustainable ocean health.
This insight paper highlights important frameworks globally that are paving the way for sustainable maritime strategies with a focus on ocean health and biodiversity; further summarising key outcomes and recommendations derived from interactive discussions during the sectoral deep dive.
Successfully fostering discussions and shifting focus towards the strong interlinkages between maritime decarbonisation and ocean health, the report highlights the following key drivers of impact:
- Upscaling existing technologies
- Integration of climate action, ocean health and biodiversity into environmental strategies
- Integration of biodiversity goals into operations through impact reduction measures, enhanced port roles, and incentives for fleet retrofitting with sustainable technologies
- Reducing carbon emissions: fuel strategies, green corridors, technological advancements.
- Aligning science, policy, industry, and funding to catalyse targeted, effective solutions tailored to the MENA region’s unique maritime challenges and opportunities.
To download the Insights Paper
To be part of this ongoing dialogue, contact: