Ocean Conference Series

Endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade Activity

Online dialogues and live events make up the Ocean Conference Series, raising awareness about the UN Decade for Ocean Science among civil society, business and political representatives, showcasing organizations working to meet the ten challenges the decade aims to overcome.

Next Ocean Decade Dialogue

Challenge 6: Increase community resilience to ocean and coastal risks

16 December 2026 | 5.00 pm | Online

At this Ocean Decade Dialogue, we will deal with the sixth challenge of the Ocean Decade: How to enhance multi-hazard early warning services for all geophysical, ecological, biological, weather, climate and anthropogenic related ocean and coastal hazards, and how to achieve mainstream community preparedness and resilience.

The online dialogue will be held in English.

Registration

Past Events:

Challenge 5: Unlock ocean-based solutions to climate change

6 October 2026, online

The focus will be on the 5th challenge of the decade: Enhance understanding of the ocean-climate nexus and generate knowledge and solutions to mitigate, adapt and build resilience to the effects of climate change across all geographies and at all scales, and to improve services including predictions for the ocean, climate and weather.

We will explore the incredible potential of large-scale ocean farming to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce sustainable alternatives to fossil-based feedstocks for industry.

Our guest: Prof. Victor Smetacek

Victor Smetacek is a distinguished Indo-German biological oceanographer renowned for his pioneering work in marine ecology, particularly in the Southern Ocean. Before retirement in 2011, he was Professor of Bio-Oceanography at the University of Bremen since 1986 and Head of the Division Pelagic Ecosystems at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany.

He is currently developing a vision of establishing multipurpose algal farms, fertilised by deep-sea nutrients, in the ocean deserts of the subtropical gyres. Macroalgae biomass would be used to make farm infrastructure - pipes, platforms, ships, but also converted into building material for use on land.

Challenge 4: Develop a sustainable, resilient and equitable ocean economy

24 June 2026, online

Our speaker: Beatriz Fernández-Gómez, Sustainability and Communications Lead, MacroCarbon

MacroCarbon is a Canaries-based company innovating to grow floating seaweeds at scale.

Beatriz holds a PhD in Biological Oceanography and specializes in marine ecology, with a particular focus on microalgal and macroalgal ecosystems. Throughout her scientific career, she has participated in numerous research projects investigating the impacts of climate change on the ocean and marine biodiversity. As Sustainability and Communications Lead at MacroCarbon, she oversees environmental monitoring, carbon removal MRV, sustainability reporting, stakeholder engagement, and scientific communication, ensuring the offshore seaweed cultivation activities deliver measurable environmental benefits.