COP26: Safeguarding Our Coastlines and Our Climate
Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab visits the COP26 Virtual Ocean Pavilion: Watch our blue carbon science videographic now!
By Rosalie Wright
Dr Lisa Wedding and her team recently led a blue carbon research project (published in Global Environmental Change) investigating the carbon sequestration potential of habitats along the California coast. With the help of the University of Oxford ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grant, these findings were shared with local policy-makers and stakeholders through online webinars, workshops, and a freely-accessible policy brief.
In addition to working with decision-makers, we sought new ways to communicate our findings with non-expert audiences through a successful art-science collaboration within the Art, Biodiversity, and Climate (ABC) Network. Following a series of outreach events (for more on these events, see our recent webstory), Dr Wedding collaborated with Sarah Reiter, Director of Ocean Policy at New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and Head of an Observer Delegation to the UNFCCC COP26 negotiations to showcase this blue carbon research and outreach work at the COP26 Virtual Ocean Pavilion (VOP).
We created a blue carbon science videographic with artist Isla Watton, resulting in an engaging and informative 2.5 minute video, suitable for a range of ages and audiences. This was on display at the COP26 VOP online event, which received over 3,000 registrations.
Our video was available on demand through the event in the Treasure Trove exhibit as well as being featured in the most popular live panel session, “Ocean & Adaptation, Resilience, and Mitigation”, which had almost 800 participants. A post-VOP survey found that over 90% would like to see a Virtual Ocean Pavilion at future COP events, succeeding in the event's aim of drawing more attention to our oceans and why they matter in climate negotiations.
“With this video, we unlock a hidden treasure trove of information about blue carbon with this message created by scientists, lawyers, and artists led by the Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab in collaboration with Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and the Oxford Art, Biodiversity and Climate Network”
“Safeguarding Our Oceans and Our Climate” by Isla Watton and the Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab
“The team highlights how we can look to the ocean to find solutions that safeguard our coastal communities, biodiversity, and our climate.”
Following the success of the COP26 VOP exhibit, we are excited to continue facilitating engagement in blue carbon science. Find out more about our participation in the Kurt Jackson: Biodiversity exhibition in this webstory. Stay up to date with our upcoming events by following us on Twitter, YouTube, and view our Outreach page here.