• Climate impact: Subnational governments and coastal communities can close the global emissions gap by up to 35% by 2051 through implementing targeted, local ocean-based climate solutions.
• Environmental protection: Subnational governments play a direct role in preventing marine pollution and safeguarding coastlines through strategic land-use planning, effective waste management, and comprehensive environmental stewardship.
• Collaborative governance: Effective ocean governance depends seamless coordination across all levels of government, with subnational authorities serving as the crucial bridge between global goals and local implementation.
• Inclusive approaches: Subnational governments are uniquely positioned to implement inclusive, whole-of-government approaches to ocean protection, engaging local stakeholders, fishing communities, civil society organizations, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Subnational governments are leading transformative action for ocean health through integrated governance approaches that connect local implementation with global commitments. These governments have pioneered consultative strategies addressing biodiversity, sustainable development goals, and climate adaptation, offering a comprehensive vision that links oceans and coastal areas to their broader ecosystems and territories.

Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Coalition Summit

Date:  7th June, 9:00 AM (CET time)
Location: Blue Zone Venue at Port Lympia, Quai Amiral Infernet, 06300, Nice, France
Registration: To register, please visit the official website and follow the instructions oceanrise-coalition.org

Regions4 led side-events:

Virtual side-event: “Ocean Solutions at Scale: Empowering Subnational Action for Restoring the Health of Marine Ecosystems”, hosted by the Regions4 Biodiversity Learning Platform (R4BLP).

.Opportunity to declare a voluntary commitment at UNOC3:

• Register your commitment here: Voluntary Commitment Database

.Share your best practices:

• We have a space dedicated for UNOC in Regions4 Webpage that is under construction. Meanwhile share your stories! Please provide your best practices to atommasi@regions4.org by 25^h April.

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Regions4 call for action at UNOC

We, the subnational governments participating in the UN Ocean Conference, call upon national governments, international organizations, and financing mechanisms to:

1.  Formally recognize and engage subnational governments in ocean governance frameworks and climate mechanisms, including NDCs, NAPS and Sustainable Ocean Plans.
2. Establish direct funding channels to support subnational ocean action, particularly for blue carbon projects, marine protection initiatives, and coastal and just resilience programs.
3. Strengthen multi-level governance collaboration to ensure cohesive approaches to tackling marine pollution and coastal erosion, protecting blue carbon ecosystems, and building climate resilience.
4. Support capacity building, knowledge sharing, and technology transfer to empower all regions to implement effective ocean solutions.
5. Develop monitoring frameworks that incorporate subnational data and metrics to track progress on ocean health and blue economy development.

As subnational leaders, we commit to advancing integrated solutions for ocean health, sharing best practices, and implementing ambitious actions that fulfill our shared commitments to SDG14, the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.