Elevating Ocean-Climate Action this June

How the GMA is meeting the moment to combat climate change, improve human livelihoods and address biodiversity loss.

GMA members participated in the Sixty-Second Session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) in Bonn, Germany to help elevate the role of the ocean in climate discussions under the UNFCCC. A key highlight was the team’s engagement in the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue, which this year focused on three core themes:

              1.           Integrating oceans into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

              2.           Embedding oceans within the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)

              3.           Strengthening ocean-climate-biodiversity synergies

To support ongoing negotiations around the GGA and the discussions at the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue, the team worked alongside the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support (AGNES) and other partners to draft a briefing paper with recommendations for marine and coastal indicators under the GGA framework.

Additionally, we joined a roundtable discussion with the High-Level Climate Champions for COP29 and COP30, focused on scaling delivery across the global climate action agenda and aligning ocean priorities with the road to Belém and beyond.

We joined amazing cross-sector actors at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) to tackle the financial investment issues confronting the ocean. An exciting milestone during the BEFF was the launch of Mangrove Breakthrough Finance Facility and Technical Assistance Facility by The Global Mangrove Alliance and the Mangrove Breakthrough. The Mangrove Breakthrough also announced a partnership with Restor and Capital for Climate to build a robust pipeline of mangrove projects for philanthropic investment. Through direct support from Global Mangrove Alliance members, one pipeline will be developed on the Restor platform and another pipeline for return seeking capital will launch on Capital for Climate.

“We believe the Mangrove Finance Facility will be a game changer in reaching our $4 billion goal for mangrove-positive finance. By pairing regional bond structures with a robust technical assistance facility, we can unlock scalable, long-term investment to stop loss, restore ecosystems and protect existing mangroves.” Ignace Beguin Billecocq, Executive Director of the Mangrove Breakthrough.

2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France helped drive forward the ocean-climate agenda and raised the profile of the Global Mangrove Alliance and the Mangrove Breakthrough across key platforms and audiences. 

One of the most significant outcomes of the week was Brazil’s formal endorsement of the Mangrove Breakthrough. As one of the most mangrove-rich countries in the world and host country of COP30, Brazil’s commitment marks a powerful step toward scaling coastal and marine nature-based solutions globally. This milestone was announced alongside plans for a dedicated Mangrove Finance Facility and the development of country propositions for Mexico, Indonesia and Guinea-Bissau. For more information on Brazil’s endorsement visit Mangrove Breakthrough Levels Up with Brazil Endorsement, Announces Finance Facility at UNOC. 

Throughout the conference, our team participated in a dozen high-level events, strategic dialogues and bilateral meetings, highlighting science, policy tools and innovative financial mechanisms such as the Coastal Resilience Methodology and Blue Carbon Plus (BC+). 

Key engagements included: 

1. Consultation on the 2025 Ocean Roadmap: From Nice to Belem, via Abu Dhabi: A roundtable hosted by H.E. Razan Al Mubarak to explore alignment across UNOC, the World Conservation Congress and COP30.

2. Uniting for Impact: Building Strategic Partnerships to Achieve the Mangrove Breakthrough’s Goals: Co-organized with the Mangrove Breakthrough Hub, this side event showcased real-world collaboration across sectors and levels of governance to drive mangrove action. 

3. Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough Champions Dinner: This event convened a group of leaders from philanthropy, finance, government and civil society to explore national-level investment opportunities to scale transformative mangrove restoration and protection. 

4. Closed door meeting Mangrove Breakthrough x World Economic Forum: Closed door meeting aiming to connect Mangrove breakthrough partners, GMA chapters and BCAP countries in order to both assess progress and work towards accelerating country-level implementation efforts towards achieving the collective goals of the Mangrove Breakthrough. 

5.  Accelerating Mangrove & Coral Reef Action through the High-Level Climate Champion Breakthrough Agenda: This high-level event brought together political leaders, the Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action, financial institutions and frontline partners to showcase the interdependence of marine ecosystem solutions and highlight how integrated, in-sync initiatives are key to accelerating system-level transformation and why the Coral and Mangrove Breakthroughs could present an opportunity to do it. 

6. Meeting with Coastal 500 Mayors: An inspiring conversation with local leaders from Indonesia, Brazil and Honduras to deepen collaboration and support their engagement in the Mangrove Breakthrough. 

7. High-level Bilaterals: Productive meetings with representatives from Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Spain and subnational leaders from Indonesia, Honduras and Brazil.  

Strengthening Synergies Across the Ocean Agenda 

As Co-Lead of the Marrakech Partnership’s Oceans and Coastal Zones group, The Nature Conservancy, a GMA Member, helped advance the broader Ocean Breakthroughs agenda—working closely with global partners to drive alignment between the Mangrove Breakthrough, the Coral Reef Breakthrough and other sectoral efforts like the launch of the Ocean Investment Protocol. A dedicated meeting with the Coral Reef Breakthrough team emphasized the value of integrated marine ecosystem approaches and set the stage for deeper collaboration across coastal habitats.  

Their involvement across multilateral platforms, partner events and country discussions underscored the critical role of the ocean-climate nexus in achieving the Paris Agreement and Global Biodiversity Framework goals. The team’s work helped strengthen relationships with key stakeholders, reinforce government engagement strategies and position TNC as a leading voice in delivering actionable, scalable ocean-climate solutions. 

Looking Ahead to COP30 and Beyond 

With the road to Belém ahead, a presence at UNOC helped lay critical groundwork for upcoming milestones. There was a key focus on the importance of supporting country-level implementation, mobilizing finance and ensuring that the ocean-climate nexus remains front and center at COP30, the World Conservation Congress and the broader Global Stocktake follow-up. The momentum built in Nice is already translating into stronger partnerships, new policy conversations and greater recognition of coastal and marine ecosystems as powerful climate solutions.