To mark this year’s World Oceans Day on 8 June, the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) hosted an evening of networking and knowledge sharing at London’s prestigious Royal Society.
The event was the first major gathering since the NOC became an independent charity in 2019. The NOC’s Board of Trustees and Executive leadership team were delighted to welcome friends, supporters and Ocean Alliance partners from across government and business who, like us, recognise the need to act to protect our ocean and our planet. Guests explored science and technology zones throughout the venue and were able to learn more about the NOC’s broad spectrum of ocean research by talking to our world-leading scientists and engineers.
The ocean is the largest, most connected and vital ecosystem on earth. It sustains all life. Keynote speaker The Right Honourable Lord Goldsmith, Minister of State for the Pacific and the International Environment, said: “It’s almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of the ocean - or the damage that we are doing to it”.
“The Blue Planet Fund builds on much of what we’ve learned from the brilliant Blue Belt that now protects 4 million square kilometres of ocean and counting around the Overseas Territories… including some of the most important marine environments on earth. And the work of the National Oceanography Centre has been key to that success”.
The focus of the event was ‘The Future of the Ocean’, and how, through science, we can drive forward global action on the ocean, climate change and biodiversity. Together with our global partners, the work we undertake at the NOC is advancing our knowledge of the ocean and the solutions we need to understand and protect the changing ocean environment.
Speaking at the event, the NOC’s CEO Professor Ed Hill said: “What do we need to get the ocean we want? Predictably, let me start with the science. We need to invest and appreciate the importance of marine science. Without sustained observations of our ocean, we cannot predict how it will absorb carbon and excess heat in the decades ahead. All our climate change predictions could be wrong if the ocean’s unique powers begin to slow, or even reverse. Science matters. And if we truly want the UK to become a science superpower, we must invest in the best, train the brightest and take the odd risk along the way too.”
NOC’s new independence allows us to unite with new partners. We all have an important role to play in understanding our changing ocean, so as a collective we can play our part in helping to restore it.
The NOC Ocean Alliance is a group of passionate, empowered companies and individuals who understand that the actions we take during this decade will determine the future of our blue planet. If you would like to learn more about joining the NOC Ocean Alliance and attending future events, please contact our Partnerships and Philanthropy team at giving@noc.ac.uk, or find out more at noc.ac.uk/about-us/giving.