Thursday December 3rd 2015: Ocean Day at COP21
Mercator Ocean and Copernicus Marine Service will be present during COP21 to highlight the importance of sustainable oceans in climate change.
From 30 November to 11 December 2015, France is hosting and chairing the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is a crucial moment, because a new international climate agreement must be signed, which will be applicable to all countries, with the goal of restricting global warming to +2°C.
The ocean plays a major role in the planet’s climate machine by storing enormous quantities of heat and redistributing it around the globe, via marine currents. But this huge and fragile environment is also the first victim of global warming: the marine ecosystems, on which human societies depend, are likely to be affected by the accelerating acidification of the ocean.
Mercator Ocean, the French ocean analysis and forecasting centre responsible for the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service, has decided to work with its partners to raise awareness among the general public and policy makers of the importance of the ocean in the global climate machine.
Mercator Ocean will be present in the “Climate Generations” areas from 30 November to 11 December at Le Bourget, where it will be hosting debates on the importance of protecting the oceans in the fight against global warming. It will also represent the Copernicus Marine Service on a special stand.
Together with its partners, Mercator Ocean and the Copernicus Marine Service are participating in several of the events surrounding the COP21. See the calendar below: