Facilitating Responsible and Ambitious Action to Prevent Climate Tipping Points and Strengthen Ocean Resilience

​Marine ecosystems and cryosphere components are undergoing rapid and accelerating change, as warming, acidification, and deoxygenation increase the likelihood of non-linear shifts in systems that regulate the global climate. Scientific assessments warn that some are approaching thresholds beyond which change may become irreversible, including the loss of Arctic summer sea ice and the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which could disrupt rainfall patterns, fisheries, and coastal and agricultural systems, particularly across Africa and other regions of the Global South.

​Rapid emissions reduction and large-scale carbon dioxide removal remain essential and must accelerate, but they may not be sufficient to prevent severe near-term disruption in certain climate-regulating systems. Research is expanding on potential approaches that may help slow or forestall these changes, including those linked to Arctic amplification, alongside mitigation and carbon removal. At the same time, public and policy discourse around these approaches remains polarized. This session will convene environmental authorities, scientists, and policy leaders to discuss how research, monitoring, and governance frameworks can be strengthened to address emerging ocean–climate risks through informed, inclusive, and scientifically rigorous dialogue. The event will also launch the second cohort of the African Climate Intervention Fellowship for Early Career Researchers (ACIFER), which supports African-led research capacity in carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification.