Peace Boat participates in UN Climate Change Conference (COP27)

In solidarity with those on the front line of the climate crisis, Peace Boat will participate in COP27, the upcoming annual United Nations Climate Change conference. The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in the coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. This UN Climate Change Conference taking place under the Egyptian Presidency has been widely viewed as an African COP with issues focusing on Loss and Damage, the impacts of climate change on communities and the financial support needed to adapt.  

“COP27 – will build on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency – from urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries. 

Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations, and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the planet.”  United Nations

A Peace Boat delegation will be participating with our civil society partners in the conference, calling for action to support those on the front lines of the climate crisis including across the African continent and on Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Peace Boat’s delegation includes Nathalia Lawen, from Seychelles who joined Peace Boat’s Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador Programme in 2019.  

Peace Boat will, together with our partners, organize several events in the UNFCCC administered Blue Zone, the civil society Green Zone, in the city and online as part of the Virtual Ocean Pavilion.  These include Peace Boat’s UNFCCC side event co-organized with Future Leaders Network and Care About Climate, “Youth as Key Leaders Transforming Climate Promises into Inclusive Action” will be an intergenerational dialogue showcasing youth-led capacity-building and education initiatives to facilitate the participation of global youth, particularly from Africa and SIDS, in climate decision-making spaces, in ensuring youth and gender inclusive NDCs, and as climate negotiators. 

Watch the livestream here

Our side event at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, “Connecting Large Ocean States for Climate Action and Youth Empowerment” is co-organized with Alliance for Future Generations - Fiji,  the Permanent Mission of Palau to the UN, Sustainable Ocean Alliance and Blue Planet Alliance. Showcasing the role of youth in scaling up climate ambition and climate adaptation, it will focus on the value of capacity building, networks and peer to peer exchange for youth across the Pacific, as well as from other large ocean states.  At the UNFCCC Capacity Building Hub, Peace Boat is co-organizing an event with OceanHub Africa and YOUNGO. 

Register to watch the livestream 

With 38 years experience organizing educational voyages onboard passenger ships, at COP27, Peace Boat will highlight the role the maritime sector must play in addressing the climate emergency. Peace Boat will demonstrate its Ecoship as a transition model for decarbonizing maritime transport through energy efficiency and renewable energies. A total of 6,000 m2 of solar panels will cover 100% of the ship’s lighting needs and Ecoship will be fitted with 8 retractable sails with flexible solar panels demonstrating possibilities for the global energy transition. Ecoship will sail for the UN Sustainable Development Goals and be the future platform for Peace Boat voyages with onboard educational programs, green exhibitions and advocacy for climate action.  Ecoship will be featured at the Ocean Pavilion, the Moana Pacific Pavilion, in the Virtual Ocean Pavilion and in the Green Zone.. 

Peace Boat will host an exhibit in the Blue Zone in partnership with Global Kids, and Peace Boat US will host one for the two weeks of the conference in the US Pavilion.