Blue NDC Challenge: Unlocking European Leadership in Ocean-Climate Action

World Resources Institute, Ocean & Climate Platform and Ocean Conservancy, as founding members of the Blue NDC Challenge, will host a closed-door exchange during London Climate Action Week to advance ocean-climate priorities through stronger cooperation, practical delivery, and broader multilateral partnerships. Co-organised with Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, the session will bring together a small group of countries and partners to share experiences, explore how financial flows can better support ocean priorities, and identify ways to strengthen collective ambition for ocean-based action in nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The discussion will also provide a space to reflect on how recent milestones, including the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue and the Our Ocean Conference, can help shape the next phase of work on ocean-based climate action. The conversation will highlight shared priorities, common challenges, and opportunities for cooperation among European countries, the United Kingdom, and partners in other regions.

Objectives

• Create a focused space for countries and partners to exchange practical approaches on ocean-climate implementation and identify where collaboration can accelerate delivery.
• Explore how financial flows can be better aligned with ocean priorities, including through public finance, development finance, and partnerships with multilateral institutions.
• Discuss how EU and UK actors can strengthen cooperation on ocean-climate ambition, including through diplomacy, policy alignment, industry engagement, and academic collaboration.
• Consider how countries can reinforce ocean priorities within broader coalitions and show stronger support for collective ambition, especially in the run-up to COP31 and the Pacific pre-COP.