Island nations are protecting our oceans. The G20 must catch up

Hilda Heine is President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

As world leaders prepare to gather for the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) in France next week, I call on all nations - especially the largest economies and biggest emitters that make up the G20 - to step up national climate commitments and end fossil fuel dependence to protect our precious ocean.

We in the Marshall Islands, like other Small Island Developing States (SIDS), are faced with the climate crisis every single day. As a nation of low-lying atolls, even the slightest sea level rise will have a devastating impact. Global sea levels are currently rising 3.4 millimetres every year, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Climate change caused by fossil fuel emissions is already having a major impact on the ocean: warming waters and acidification are threatening marine life and destroying coral reefs, which sustain our fisheries and shield our coasts from storms and floods.

We’re threatened by increasingly powerful cyclones and record high tides, like the ones that struck Majuro in 2013, damaging 200 homes and shutting down our international airport.

Disasters like this will become increasingly common for our children and grandchildren.

This isn’t simply a problem for low-lying nations like mine, it’s a problem for the whole world. Over 70% of the globe is covered by the ocean, and it’s the largest carbon sink on the planet.

The ocean absorbs 30% of all carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90% of the excess heat generated by those emissions, making it a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change, according to the United Nations.

But we’re slowly chipping away at its incredible capacity to buffer against those impacts, and it is set to get worse.

Emissions from fossil fuels - which some countries are continuing to expand despite commitments to transition away - will worsen sea level rise, ocean acidification and extreme weather events, putting island communities like mine on the front line of disasters that we didn’t cause and don’t have the resources to protect ourselves against.

What’s more, the threat of oil spills, seismic blasting and habitat destruction undermines decades of ocean conservation efforts and threatens future protection measures.

Reducing emissions from fossil fuels is one of the most important ways we can protect the ocean, and we all have a role to play. The Marshall Islands is already doing its part: we are committing to at least 58% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2010 levels by 2035.

We have also led the charge for reducing shipping emissions, both at home, with a decarbonisation target in our national climate plan - called a nationally determined contribution (NDC) - and in the International Maritime Organization.

What we need now is bold action from major economies. G20 countries, which are responsible for 80% of global emissions, must deliver and implement 1.5C-aligned NDCs that phase out fossil fuels and scale up renewables. At the same time, we need national adaptation plans that prioritize coastal protection, and climate finance that allows vulnerable nations to adapt and shield our people and ecosystems from future harm.

Healing and protecting the ocean will require more than just reducing fossil fuel emissions. We also need to ensure countries are sticking to the ‘30x30’ commitment to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030 as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

This is not just about climate, but also about human rights. Every day, the expansion of the fossil fuel industry erodes our rights, including our right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

World leaders can and must use the UN Ocean Conference in Nice to pave the way for meaningful outcomes at COP30 in Brazil in November.

They should use this opportunity to ratify the BBNJ agreement, commonly known as the High Seas Treaty, to ensure the world’s ocean commons are protected through enforceable international cooperation.

And they should deliver on climate commitments - including 1.5C-aligned NDCs, adaptation plans, and climate finance - to protect the ocean from further harm, and allow it to keep protecting us.

The ocean is essential to life on Earth. Let’s act like it.