This story was originally shared by the Ocean Decade.

This article is part of our new ‘Ocean Science in Action’ series, which highlights achievements and success stories from our network of endorsed Decade Actions. 

The ocean is a global force of nature against the impact of climate change. It is responsible for about 50% of the oxygen produced on the planet, absorbs 30% of CO₂ emissions, and captures 90% of excess heat. But this works both ways. Human activities cause seawater to warm and to become more acidic and polluted. The ocean is being severely damaged and with it its capacity to regulate the climate.

In this article, we highlight two initiatives endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (‘Ocean Decade’) that are pioneering innovative solutions to protect and restore the health of the ocean while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Tiny phytoplankton drifting in sunlit waters have spent billions of years absorbing vast amounts of carbon and producing oxygen. But their world is growing darker. The ‘photic zone’, the sunlit layer about 200 metres deep that shelters 90% of all marine life, has shrunk across a fifth of the ocean in just two decades, and in some places by half.

Blue carbon’s ‘big three’ – mangroves, marshes, and seagrass meadows – lock away carbon up to five times more efficiently than forests on land. But these blue carbon ecosystems are vanishing fast: a third of seagrass meadows have been lost since 1879, and until recently mangroves were disappearing twice as fast as any other forest on Earth.

Despite their vast ability to cut four times the EU’s annual emissions, ocean-based climate solutions remain largely overlooked in global policies and funding. For instance, Small Island Developing States, which steward 30% of the world’s waters, receive less than 2% of climate finance.
As part of the Ocean Decade, scientists around the world are advancing ocean-based solutions from offshore renewable energy and cleaner shipping to the restoration of blue carbon ecosystems.

The two success stories below highlight how the Ocean Decade is unlocking the ocean’s potential to regulate the climate and buffer the worst impacts of climate change.

The Global Ocean Decade Programme for Blue Carbon: Building capacity for blue carbon’s ‘big three’

In the Forth Estuary in central Scotland, students from across the world  step into the mud to collect samples and uncover how much carbon and climate history are locked within sediments and vegetation. Back in the lab, that hidden blue carbon is measured and quantified. With tools like radiocarbon dating, isotopes, and thermal methods, they track how it has accumulated layer by layer and trace the timelines of carbon burial over centuries. 
This is how the Global Ocean Decade Programme for Blue Carbon (GO-BC) equips the next generation of ocean leaders to tackle marine climate and biodiversity challenges.

Led by the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom, the GO-BC programme is the world’s leading scientific initiative on blue carbon. It works with communities and governments to deliver the science and knowledge needed to shape policies and create funding mechanisms that safeguard fragile ecosystems. Supported by a network of world-renowned scientists, its summer school and regional hubs train ocean professionals in every aspect of blue carbon science.

In August 2024, GO-BC partnered with WWF-Vietnam to deliver field-based capacity building in the Meekong Delta of Vietnam and supported a new generation of early career researchers. “Being part of the partnership opportunity with the Ocean Decade has been an amazing journey, showcasing the vital role of blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves in combating climate change and supporting coastal communities,” said Dr Ho Le Tuan, Nong Lam University, Vietnam.

By uniting research, collaboration, capacity building, and policy support, GO-BC creates the knowledge, skills, and partnerships needed to translate blue carbon science into action.

Quantitative Tools for Responsible Marine Energy: Turning ocean motion into clean energy

At sea, the winds blow steadier, stronger, and more often than on land. Twice a day, tides surge and retreat, moving enormous volumes of water. Powerful currents, endless waves, and rolling swells are ever-present. These ocean forces represent a limitless, indigenous source of energy.

The project Quantitative Tools for Responsible Marine Energy from Sandia National Laboratories harnesses the power of tides and waves to support the growth of sustainable marine energy, while minimizing environmental impacts.

When deployed in coastal areas, wave and current energy converters can disturb habitats, alter natural water movements, and generate noise, electromagnetic fields, and collision risks that put stress on marine ecosystems.

To address this, the project has developed the open-source Spatial Environmental Assessment Toolkit (SEAT), which allows communities and stakeholders to assess the environmental impacts of renewable energy projects. A new groundbreaking module even makes it possible to monitor the interactions of ocean noise and marine animals at renewable marine energy sites.

According to Jesse Roberts, principal investigator for the project at Sandia National Laboratories, “SEAT attempts to make the unpredictable predictable by incorporating numerous environmental and physical parameters and producing models showing the most likely outcomes and associated risks. SEAT offers a quantifiable means to sustainably harness marine renewable energy that maximizes the benefits of local energy and water production as well as protection from coastal erosion, while minimizing undesirable changes to our oceans.”

SEAT aims to become a global standard for renewable marine energy assessments, fostering sustainable energy solutions and environmental stewardship.

These initiatives show that ocean science is more than research – it is a pathway to solutions that protect ecosystems, support communities, and contribute to climate action. By unlocking the ocean’s full potential, the Ocean Decade is helping chart a course toward a healthier, more resilient planet.

For more information, please contact:
Ocean Decade Communications Team ([email protected])

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About the Ocean Decade:

Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (‘the Ocean Decade’) seeks to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyse new opportunities for sustainable development of this massive marine ecosystem. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade.

About the IOC:

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO promotes international cooperation in marine sciences to improve management of the ocean, coasts and marine resources. The IOC enables its 152 Member States to work together by coordinating programmes in capacity development, ocean observations and services, ocean science and tsunami warning. The work of the IOC contributes to the mission of UNESCO to promote the advancement of science and its applications to develop knowledge and capacity, key to economic and social progress, the basis of peace and sustainable development.