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At the second annual MENA Oceans Summit in Dubai, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion and President of IUCN, emphasized the essential role of oceans in sustaining environmental health and climate resilience. The summit convened key leaders to push forward ocean conservation efforts in the Middle East and North Africa.
In her address, Ms. Al Mubarak celebrated significant progress made since COP28, including the Oceans Ministerial event and the mobilization of $2.7 billion for nature finance. She outlined the Ocean Breakthroughs, a strategic initiative with clear targets to reduce emissions by up to 35% by 2050 through enhanced marine conservation, renewable ocean energy, and sustainable coastal tourism.
Highlighting the rich marine ecosystems of the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean, she called for greater integration of ocean-based measures into national policies as updates to Nationally Determined Contributions and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans are due to their respective UN bodies by 2025. Ms. Al Mubarak’s call for robust collaboration underscored the upcoming global environmental events, including UNFCCC COP29 and the UN Ocean Conference in 2025, as pivotal opportunities for advancing ocean sustainability.
Her speech resonated with a clear message: “Our oceans are invaluable allies in building a resilient planet. Through international cooperation and ambitious action, we can ensure that they continue to thrive and support global ecological balance.”