Global #CommitToOcean Campaign Gains Momentum as Guterres Calls for Bold, United Ocean-Climate Action at COP30

On behalf of a livable planet, António Guterres, Dr. Sylvia Earle & global leaders supercharge the call to #CommitToOcean at COP30

BELéM, BRAZIL, November 21, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As world leaders reckon how we will act on the climate crisis at COP30, a broad and influential coalition behind the #CommitToOcean campaign formally released its public sign-on letter urging world leaders to deliver bold ocean-climate outcomes in Belém and beyond. Backed by a rapidly growing global grassroots movement and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the letter has already gathered 500+ individual signatories and more than 100 organizations across 82 countries representing youth leaders, Indigenous voices, frontline communities, scientists, climate justice advocates, and cultural influencers from every region of the world.

“We are totally in agreement: protecting the ocean is a fundamental priority,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “We are totally committed [to ocean], and the oceans are getting attention, but we don’t give up.”

A Global Grassroots Wave for COP30
The #CommitToOcean campaign has generated worldwide engagement — from digital influencers reaching millions online to protests inside the negotiation spaces of COP30. The surge of support demonstrates the urgency felt by people everywhere who are calling for stronger, more equitable integration of the ocean into global climate policy.

“What we’re seeing right now is a global grassroots wave unlike anything the ocean-climate movement has witnessed before. People from every corner of the world—from every background—are demanding that leaders finally treat the ocean as central to climate action. Ocean action is climate action,” shared Mark Haver, Founder of the #CommitToOcean campaign, “The decisions made at COP30 will shape the future of our planet for generations. We built #CommitToOcean to turn collective hope into collective power—and the world is answering.”

Notable signatories include world-renowned ocean scientists Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Lisa Levin, Captain Francisco A. Arias-Isaza, and Dr. Marinez Scherer. Cultural figures and public personalities—including Madame Gandhi, Willis Chimano, and Danny Franzese—bring global visibility to the movement. Frontline Indigenous leadership has been defining the narrative at COP30 and territorial defenders Alice Pataxó, WHAIA, Leo Cerda, and Xiye Bastida emphasize the critical demands for financing for the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities advancing ocean-based climate solutions. They join some of the world’s most influential youth climate activists, including Camille Étienne, Jerome Foster, Hilda Flavia Nakabuye, Carissa Cabrera, Natalie Chung, Paloma Costa, and prominent policy leaders such as Monica Medina and Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez. Together, these signatories represent a rising worldwide demand that decision-makers embed strong, measurable ocean-based solutions, especially on finance, into COP30 outcomes.

“We are watching the ocean’s life-support systems reach dangerous tipping points. Coral reefs—home to a quarter of all marine species—are bleaching faster than ever, and we are now crossing the ocean acidification boundary that keeps marine life in balance. These aren’t abstract scientific thresholds; they are the foundations of food security, cultural identity, and planetary stability,” emphasized Xiye Bastida, Planetary Guardian and co-founder of Re-Earth Initiative. “That’s why direct financing to communities leading ocean-climate solutions is not optional—it is urgent. If we want a livable future, we must invest in the people already safeguarding it.”

Key Demands of the Public Sign-On Letter
The letter calls on COP30 leaders to:
Integrate ocean-based climate solutions into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs);
Unlock and scale direct and immediate finance for ocean-based climate solutions — especially for frontline, Indigenous, and youth-led initiatives;
Ensure ocean and coastal indicators are reflected in the Global Goal on Adaptation and the Baku Adaptation Roadmap;
Strengthen unity and accountability at the ocean-climate-nature nexus across multilateral conventions
Deliver the political will to champion ambitious ocean action at home and internationally.
Take action through the #CommitToOcean Advocacy Kit.

A Moment for Leaders to Rise
COP30 offers a historic chance to create an inflection point: will we address the ocean as a victim or will we leverage the ocean as a solution to meet our Paris Agreement targets and ensure a liveable planet for all. World leaders must take a stand and #CommitToOcean.
“Ocean finally is in the place where it should be in the center of the climate discussions. Ocean is the main climate regulator and without the blue, we don’t have the green,” said COP30 Special Envoy for the Ocean Dr. Marinez Scherer.

#CommitToOcean is a global grassroots campaign mobilizing broad and diverse support for the ocean at the core of climate action. A continuation of the #CommitToClimate campaign at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France in June 2025, the movement for ocean-climate action is growing stronger and stronger.

Mark Haver
Blue Green Generation
email us here

#CommitToOcean COP30 Press Conference at COP 30 in Brazil

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