Global problems in the world

4. THE OCEAN
2022 was the long-awaited “Super Year of the Ocean,” and it did not disappoint. Throughout the year, the ocean took center stage, including at the One Ocean Summit in Brest, France, the Our Ocean Conference in the Micronesian Republic of Palau, and the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Together, these conferences highlighted the critical role the ocean plays in supporting human well-being broadly, from food security to climate adaptation and mitigation. Recognizing this, governments, companies, and civil society actors made commitments and pledges to address the full range of ocean challenges and provide billions of dollars in needed funding for ocean action. Highlights included renewed efforts to combat illegal fishing, protect and restore marine and coastal ecosystems, and promote ocean-based climate action such as by decarbonizing shipping and increasing offshore renewable energy.
There also were major milestones for the ocean in 2022 in “non-ocean” global forums such as the World Trade Organization, where members agreed to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies, and the UN Environment Assembly, which agreed to begin negotiations for a binding global treaty to end plastic pollution. COP 27 also furthered the “blueing” of climate action, with a renewed commitment to a formal ocean/climate dialogue as well as hundreds of ocean-focused events and, for the first time, a physical Ocean Pavilion that served as a hub for the ocean-climate community.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN 2023
"In the coming year, we should expect the 'mainstreaming' of the ocean into global consciousness, and the recognition of the ocean as a source of solutions for humanity, to continue."
Susan Ruffo, Senior Advisor for Ocean and Climate, and Kerrlene Wills, Director for Ocean and Climate, UN Foundation
Ocean-based solutions to climate change, food security, and energy stability will receive greater recognition in 2023. This will include work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to accelerate the decarbonization of the global shipping sector, as well as a renewed push from governments around the globe to develop clean ocean-based energy sources such as offshore wind in the U.S. and Europe and ocean thermal energy conversion in the large ocean states of the Pacific.
Key ocean moments in the upcoming year will include the Our Ocean Conference in Panama in March, which will catalyze new commitments for ocean conservation and action; a final round of negotiations on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction; and a critical meeting of the IMO in July that will determine whether the international maritime sector can reduce emissions in line with the Paris targets and potentially even set a sectorwide price on carbon emissions. Expect the ocean to also play a prominent role at COP 28, given that host UAE is already highlighting the role of ocean and coastal ecosystems in both mitigating and supporting adaptation to climate change and has made enhancing and restoring ecosystems such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrasses part of its Net-Zero 2050 Strategy. 2022 may have been the first “super year” for the ocean, but it certainly won’t be the last as momentum increases ahead of the next UN Ocean Conference in 2025.

After the floods in Jacobabad, Sindh province, Pakistan, Aneefa Bibi holds her 5-year-old daughter, Hood. Villages like Aneefa's need the most attention after the recent floods as malaria, skin and other diseases are on the rise amongst the locals, especially children. Photo: Saiyna Bashir