The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) is a proud supporter of the pre-COP26 Oceans of Knowledge 2021: Climate Change and the Ocean Conference, the fourth biennial conference in the series. The hybrid event is being held at the Institute of Physics in London with global remote participation.
Ralph Rayner. Image Credit: Society for Underwater Technology
The two day conference addresses three key themes: climate change and sustainable use of the ocean and ocean resources; the role of the ocean in natural and engineered climate mitigation; and rising sea levels and coastal vulnerability. It is aimed at government and government agencies; the climate science and ocean observing community; ocean technology businesses; users of the coast and the ocean; coastal and ocean planning bodies; and ocean industries; SUT has individual and corporate members from, and special interest groups aimed at, all of these communities.
Ralph Rayner, immediate past President of the SUT and co-chair of the conference, organised by the Operational Oceanography Special Interest Group of the IMarEST said:
“Taking place immediately ahead of COP26, this is an opportunity to hear from an impressive array of speakers covering the three key conference themes Outputs from the conference will be delivered to COP26 through a side event and exhibition, helping to raise the profile of ocean issues in these all important negotiations.”
Scene setting keynotes from luminaries including Sir David King, Founder and Chair, Centre for Climate Repair, Cambridge University, Former UK Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr Richard Spinrad, U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, and Emma Howard-Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency will highlight current scientific understanding and responses to ocean related aspects of climate change. Policy responses at a national and international level will be placed into the context of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable development and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Sessions over the two days look at The Challenge; Use of the Ocean and its Resources; The New Blue Economy; Meeting the Challenge; What We Know; What We Don’t Know; Living with Uncertainty; and Meeting the Challenge. The full programme and registration are at https://tinyurl.com/2fj2ef2x
Outputs from the conference will be used to generate a summary report drawing together the three themes, informing follow on workshops and supporting peer reviewed publications.