Connecting All on Our Incredible Blue Planet Since 2021

The ocean has greatly slowed the rate of climate change, but at a cost: the ocean has warmed, acidified, and lost oxygen. While circulation patterns are changing, sea levels are rising. The continuation of these changes not only threatens marine ecosystems, but also the future ability of the ocean to support life on Earth. Despite this, the ocean offers a range of key mitigation and adaptation opportunities for nations to combat climate change and increase ambition on emissions reduction and to ensure that the ocean can be developed sustainably for the benefits it provides to people around the world.

The Virtual Ocean Pavilion is an online platform dedicated to raising the visibility of the ocean and showcasing why the ocean matters in climate negotiations and to all life on our planet. It aims to democratize the ocean at COPs and promote unity and inclusivity, whilst increasing knowledge, commitment, and action for the ocean-climate nexus at key events during the meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP). It is also a key tool in increasing transparency and equitable access to climate discussions and information.

Now in its fifth year, the Virtual Ocean Pavilion is returning for COP30, which will be held in Belém, Brazil from 10-21 November 2025.. Learn more about the plans for the COP30 Virtual Ocean Pavilion here. The first Virtual Ocean Pavilion was held during the UNFCCC COP26 (held in Glasgow, 31 October – 12 November 2021), continued at COP27 (held in Sharm El Sheik, 6 – 18 November 2022), at COP28 (held in Dubai, 30 November – 12 December 2023), and COP29 (held in Baku, 11-22 November 2024).

The Pavilion aims to:

• Continue to raise the profile of the ocean among members of the ocean and climate community as the Virtual Ocean Pavilion did in COP26, COP27, COP28 and COP29;
• Provide a communication platform for those who are unable to participate in the UNFCCC COP in person from various parts of the world;
• Address UNFCCC priorities while promoting the space for ocean in the climate conference; and
• Promote cross-sectoral cooperation and collaboration on ocean-climate action at the national, regional, and global levels.

Why an Ocean Pavilion

The ocean and climate are intrinsically linked. One cannot function without the other, and yet, the ocean has lacked any real seat at the table under the UNFCCC climate negotiations. Without this essential piece of the puzzle, climate ambition will be hindered, and the ocean crisis will worsen. Furthermore, the majority of the global ocean has no “owners”, and therefore no representative or voice of its own like nations, and it covers 72% of the world’s surface and over 90% of the living space on the planet. In order to give it a voice, it needs a prominent presence at the climate negotiations in its own right. The ocean should have a pavilion all of its own, highlighting the point that it is central to life on Earth. A dedicated Ocean Pavilion would raise the visibility of the ocean and showcase why the ocean matters in climate negotiations and to all life on our planet. Not surprisingly, the ocean transcends across all themes of the UNFCCC in a unified way like no other topic, from finance to energy to nature, land, resilience, industry, transport, to cities and science and innovation. As the ocean concerns everyone, the Virtual Ocean Pavilion has the capability of engaging and reaching those that cannot attend UNFCCC COP in-person and presents a long-lasting resource for all – leaving no one behind.

Why Virtual

A virtual presence at UNFCCC COP ensures that the Pavilion will be:

• Totally within the co-organizers’ control in terms of timing, allowing flexibility to respond to changes in the UNFCCC COP schedule
• Adaptable and scalable
• Long-lasting and accessible – being hosted online means it will be available long-after the VOP has ended
• Relatively less costly – eliminates the costs of a physical pavilion
• Will be more inclusive – will reach a much wider audience than just those able to attend UNFCCC COP
• Climate friendly – reduces carbon footprint

Features

The pavilion is free of charge to participants and contains informative and interactive live and on-demand events with links to activities at the UNFCCC COP. Year after year, the Pavilion aims to:
1) Highlight important ocean events such as planned by the UNFCCC Secretariat under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action (MP-GCA);
2) Host panel sessions linking the ocean with the themes of the UNFCCC COP events to provide input to these discussions;
3) Feature interviews with Party negotiators to gain insights on the status of discussions;
4) Provide a gateway to ocean and climate stories from around the world.

Co-organizers & Collaborating Partners

The Virtual Ocean Pavilions have been organized by the Global Ocean Forum (GOF) and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) together with several co-organizers and collaborating partners, including the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the Oceano Azul Foundation, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Communications INC, One Ocean Hub and the Ocean & Climate Platform. The full list of partners that have collaborated with GOF and PML can be found on the COP26, COP27, COP28 and COP29 Virtual Ocean Pavilion pages, respectively.

Collaborate

To help continue to realize the Virtual Ocean Pavilion, the co-organizers are welcoming sponsors and additional partners. Those involved will benefit from:

• Directly contributing to the ocean presence at future UNFCCC COP and vice versa; the Virtual Ocean Pavilion will also be highlighted by those physically at the COP
• Opportunity to help co-design the pavilion and suggest further content
• Access to social media resources that can be used by partners and sponsors to disseminate the key messages of the VOP
• Sponsors will have the additional options of:
  1) A ‘space in the Virtual Ocean Pavilion’ with their logo prominently displayed in the virtual pavilion – in both the main event space and other virtual pavilion features
  2) A range of social media assets to profile sponsor’s support of the Virtual Ocean Pavilion
  3) Invitation to attend a private view of the virtual space before it goes live to the public
  4) Acknowledgement in a range of places where the Virtual Ocean Pavilion is promoted

All contributions and donations to support the organization of the VOP are welcome. Please consider donating here.

Reports from past Virtual Ocean Pavilions