(NEWS) WMU Highlights Empowering Women Programme at COP 28

January

2024

WMU Highlights Empowering Women Programme at COP 28

The World Maritime University - Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) was invited to contribute to the COP 28 UAE - United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai and showcase the Institute’s work, capacity-building initiatives, and outreach activities particularly related to the Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme (Empowering Women Programme).

On 3 December, Associate Professor Zhen Sun, Co-Principal Investigator of the Empowering Women Programme, participated as a panelist for the Ocean Decade Flagship Event, hosted by the Decade Coordination Unit of IOC-UNESCO. The panel was part of the session on Ocean Decade 2030: Science, Action, and Partnerships for Climate Action through the Ocean Decade. Dr Sun discussed the challenges to achieving gender equality in the Decade context, presented the research output from the Empowering Women Programme including the Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan, and shared guiding elements to promote women’s participation and representation on all levels in the conduct and use of ocean science.

Dr Sun also contributed to an Ocean Climate Spotlights session held at the Ocean Decade + OceanX Pavilion. The session launched the “Scaling up Actions to Empower Women for the Ocean Decade - Joint 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference side events report" that synthesizes findings of the Empowering Women Programme's side events held at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference, as well as insightful contributions by representatives of the programme’s implementation partners. In officially launching the report, Dr Sun underscored the need to embed gender equality as a central pillar in all Ocean Decade initiatives and stressed the importance of advocating for increased women's representation, participation, and leadership in ocean science. Dr Sun also highlighted the significance and added value of women's participation in sustainability, ocean conservation, and human resources management which is crucial to ensure the preservation and sustainable utilization of the ocean and its resources to foster a thriving and sustainable ocean. To access the full report, click here.

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About the UNFCCC COP28

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP28 (Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC), is the 28th iteration of the United Nations Climate Change conference. Taking place from November 30 to December 12, 2023, at Expo City, Dubai, the conference continued a tradition established since the inception of the first UN climate agreement in 1992. The annual COP conferences serve as forums for governments to collaboratively formulate policies aimed at mitigating global temperature increases and adapting to the various impacts associated with climate change. The discussions and agreements reached during these gatherings play a crucial role in shaping international efforts to address the challenges posed by climate change.

About the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute

The World Maritime University’s WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) is an independent focal point for the ocean science-policy-law-industry-society interface where policymakers, the scientific community, regulators, industry actors, academics, and representatives of civil society meet to discuss how best to manage and use ocean spaces and their resources in accordance with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Institute was inaugurated in May 2018 and made possible through generous support from The Nippon Foundation of Japan, the Governments of Sweden, Canada, and Germany, as well as the City of Malmö.

About the Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme

The purpose of the Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme (Empowering Women Programme) is to advance an alternative, inclusive model for the sustainable governance of ocean spaces and maritime activities that duly takes into account the need to ensure effective gender equality and the empowerment of women at all levels in order to ensure the sustainable management of the global ocean. The Programme is endorsed by IOC-UNESCO as a Decade Action and plays a central role in supporting the Ocean Decade mission to catalyze transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development. The Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme is generously funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) with additional support from The Nippon Foundation.

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