The Global Stocktake 2023, Two-Part Workshop Series: 
 First Workshop - Oceans, and Climate Change and the Global Stocktake

Despite the climate crisis impacting countries across the world with increasing frequency and force, global greenhouse gas emissions are at an all-time high, rebounding from the pandemic dip with a 6.4% increase and surpassing the pre-pandemic peak. The first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement set for 2023, is therefore critical in determining where we are, where we want to be, and how we will get there. With this in mind, the NUS Centre for International Law (CIL) in partnership with Durham University, Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLP), with the support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, are organizing a two-part workshop series that will explore in-depth and over a time continuum, the sources of input, methodologies, and assumptions used to aggregate the four synthesis reports for the technical assessment component of the first global stocktake. The goal of these workshops is to understand how the global stocktake unfolds as a robust, inclusive and comprehensive process that will result in enhanced ambition and accelerated implementation of climate action in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

Speakers include Dr. Nilufer Oral (International Law Commission and Director of NUS-CIL), Dr. Filimon Manoni (Pacific Islands Forum), Dr. Joanna Post (UNFCCC), Prof. Volker Roeben (Dean, Durham Law School), Prof. Mizan Khan (North South University), Walters Tubua (UNFCCC), Dr. Markus Gehring (Cambridge University), Prof. Petra Minnerop (Durham Law School, Director of CSDLP), Lisa Schindler Murray (Rare), and Dr. Srivatsan Raghavan (Tropical Marine Science Institute), and Danielle Yeow (NUS-CIL). A full programme with confirmation of all speakers will follow shortly.

First workshop: 

The first Workshop had a targeted focus on oceans and climate change. The ocean has the potential to contribute greatly to adaptation and mitigation efforts that will allow us to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and yet, the development of international law on oceans and climate change has fallen behind. From the implementation of marine protected areas to the more controversial ocean fertilization efforts, the global ocean, which covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, has the potential to play a major role in climate action. This workshop examined the recent international policy developments on ocean and climate change and the expectations for upcoming discussions in international law. It will also examine opportunities in which ocean issues can play a larger role in the Global Stocktake and how governments can fully integrate these issues into their NDCs.