COP27 Side Event: A blue transformation to achieve Paris Agreement goals

A virtual Ocean Pavilion 2022, live day on aquatic food

In a world where more than three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, the fisheries and aquaculture sector can contribute to ending food insecurity and malnutrition while building nature-positive, efficient, inclusive and sustainable food systems. The large biological diversity of aquatic foods, the efficiency of their production systems, and low carbon and environmental footprint underpin these expectations. 

However, the sector relies on highly climate-sensitive living resources and critical habitats (e.g., mangroves, seagrasses, lakes, rivers, etc.), and its dependent communities are among the most vulnerable, especially small-scale producers. If we want aquatic food production to contribute to climate-resilient, nature-friendly and sustainable aquatic food systems, transformation is essential.

Blue transformation is a vision that aims to satisfy the world’s growing nutritional needs by providing the legal, policy and technical framework to sustain growth while conserving and increasing resilience of aquatic ecosystems. Adaptation for fisheries and aquaculture to foster resilience is urgently needed, as well as additional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector, in line with the Paris Agreement that calls for increasing adaptation and mitigation without threatening food production.

Solutions are available but need to be translated into on-the-ground actions suitable for local specificities and benefiting small-scale fishers and fish farmers who are stewards of resources. Building on outcomes of the Glasgow Climate Pact that urges countries to scale-up adaptation and long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies, as well as on the 2022 UN Ocean Conference outcomes on ocean-based action, this panel will gather a wide range of stakeholders, to discuss responses and opportunities to address climate-smart solutions for fisheries and aquaculture, both in marine and freshwater systems.

Event objectives

This event co-convened by FAO, UNCTAD, and AU-IBAR will:

• Gather diverse stakeholders to discuss responses and opportunities to increase climate change resilience of the fisheries and aquaculture sector;
• Showcase climate adaptive solutions coming out of the aquatic food systems and the need of a Blue Transformation; and increase the visibility of fisheries and aquaculture in climate change discussions.