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With a focus on global sustainability, Oceans 20 will present its recommendations on November 16.

Oceans 20 Official Communiqué: Placing Oceans at the Heart of Global Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainability:

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The Oceans 20 (O20) Engagement Group of the G20 will present its official communiqué on November 16 at 9:00 a.m. during its final meeting, held within the G20 Social Summit at Praça Mauá, Rio de Janeiro. Developed with the collaboration of public, private, academic, and civil society sectors, this document brought together over 6,000 people from 34 nations.

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Centered on the ocean as a pillar of economic, environmental, and social sustainability, the communiqué sets forth recommendations for leaders of the 19 G20 member countries, along with the European Union and African Union. It features seven core recommendations, divided into ten key themes, each containing six actionable measures. These call for decisive action to lead, protect, and nurture the ocean that sustains us all, as stated in the communiqué.

The recommendations include ensuring a clean, healthy, and productive ocean; expanding sustainable aquatic food systems; increasing offshore wind energy generation; enhancing maritime governance for sustainable navigation; boosting ocean financing; improving maritime security; and strengthening global coordination. Practical actions to be adopted span across areas such as financing, research, policy development, enforcement, cooperation, valuation, and education, among others.

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The Oceans 20 is a Brazilian-led innovation under its G20 presidency, institutionalizing the engagement group. The significance of ocean-related issues on the global agenda is underscored by notable figures: "Ocean sectors have the potential to contribute over $3 trillion annually to the global economy by 2030," the O20 communiqué notes. Additionally, the document highlights the ocean-climate relationship as both a driver and consequence of global warming, while marine solutions and industries could account for one-third of the emission reductions under the Paris Agreement.

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The Oceans 20 is one of 13 G20 engagement groups that serve as channels for citizen participation in global solutions. As a newly institutionalized group, the O20 adopted a broad public engagement strategy to stimulate discussions. Known as Oceans Dialogues, these events were open for planning, hosting, and participation by society at large. The resulting proposals from discussions held throughout 2024 were compiled, reviewed, and endorsed during the group’s official meetings: inception, midterm, and soon-to-be-held summit.

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The O20 is coordinated by the UNESCO Chair for Ocean Sustainability in collaboration with the UN Global Compact, the World Economic Forum, the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO), the National Institute for Oceanographic Research (INPO), and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with support from various national and international partners. The initiative is further supported by Rio Capital of the G20, G20 Social, and the Lusophone Hub of the Ocean Decade.

Nathália Bernardo
Oceans 20 Brasil journalist

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