During the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland last week, organisers of The Ocean Race connected world leaders who are taking action to restore ocean health.
The Ocean Race brought the spirit of ocean racing to Davos to promote positive change in ocean protection and restoration, with some of the world’s top business and political leaders vowing to scale-up their commitment to the race for the ocean.
Held under the theme “Rebuilding Trust”, the 54th meeting of the WEF (15–19 January), the annual event in Davos-Klosters brought together over 100 governments and major international organisations as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs and media.
This year, the meeting aims to provide a space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.
On Tuesday (16 January), The Ocean Race chairman Richard Brisius led a high-level roundtable co-hosted with Greek House Davos, to team up the public and private sector to support and scale up innovation, promote investments, mobilise scientific expertise, generate ocean data — among other aspects — based on shared resources, networks, knowledge and technologies.
The event highlighted and illustrated the role of the ocean, and its connection to business and the wider economy, and showcased the relationship of the ocean to global efforts towards climate change mitigation and biodiversity enhancement.
Among the participants were John Kerry, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate; HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco; Dr Dionysia Theodora Avgerinopoulou, envoy of the Greek Prime Minister and chair of the Hellenic parliament environment committee; Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars; Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean; Barbara Karuth-Zelle, COO of Allianz; Paul Simpson, CEO and founder of Cornerstone United Holdings Jamaica; and Simon Fisher, who won the last race with 11th Hour Racing Team, becoming the only navigator to win The Ocean Race twice.
John Kerry, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate at the High Level Roundtable organised by The Ocean Race and hosted at Greek House at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland | Credit: Eugene Theodore
The roundtable focused on the need for a new relationship between humanity and the ocean based on the recognition of the inherent rights of the ocean, addressing the value of ocean biodiversity and marine protected areas, identifying measures for reduction of marine pollution, and highlighting the ocean/climate nexus and calls to ocean action from business.
The roundtable event was also an opportunity to discuss the desired outcomes from two main global ocean conferences that will be held in Europe: Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Greece in April 2024 and the UN Ocean Conference in Nice in June 2025.
“The ocean is a place of opportunity, where efforts in green shipping, offshore renewables, and other ambitious mitigation actions can make a real difference in fighting the climate crisis,” John Kerry said. “That’s why the Our Ocean Conference, which Greece will host this April, is such an important moment for the ocean and climate. This year, it will have been 10 years since we began the Our Ocean Conference, which was created to be one of action, not just talk. And we’ve delivered on that year after year.”
Simon Fisher said: “After completing six editions of The Ocean Race I believe my fellow sailors and myself are witnesses to the threats facing the ocean as we’ve experienced the changes over the past 20 years. But I’m heartened by the shift towards taking action.
“As an example, in this last race each competing team collected valuable data through water sampling (over four million data points in the last race alone) that contributes to ocean science. Through these kinds of concrete steps, we can use the power of sport to inspire others.”
Brisius added: “At The Ocean Race we have repeatedly demonstrated how we can successfully convene and connect the different perspectives of business, government, philanthropy, academia and civil society, and apply the lessons we have learned through our sport to the race to restore ocean health.
“At The Ocean Race High Level Roundtable here in Davos attendance and insights shared has been extraordinary and exceeded everyone's expectations. Being in a completely full Greek House was outstanding and we couldn’t have squeezed even one more person in to the room. We are blown away and extremely grateful for the interest and the urgency shown from all who shared their experience and expertise with each other here today… All for the good of the ocean.”
Brisius — who is a member of Friends of Ocean Action, a unique group of ocean leaders, convened by the Ocean Action Agenda at the WEF — attended a number of WEF sessions on behalf of The Ocean Race, as well as speaking informally at various events that characterise the WEF in Davos.
