We are happy to share with you the news that the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) will collaborate with the IOCCP to develop an internationally agreed strategy for Surface Ocean CO₂ monitoring. The G7 and IOCCP collaboration was presented by the EU coordinator of the G7 FSOI Coordination Centre during a scoping workshop entitled "Ocean Carbon Capacities: Identifying priorities for collaborative action" held by the EU Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) on 21 October. The workshop focused on an action plan to develop a robust reporting system capable of understanding, evaluating and predicting ocean carbon uptake on an annual basis, placing these in the context of other ocean carbon sources and sinks, and reporting the results of this to the UNFCCC Global Stocktake 2023.

As part of the G7 FSOI Coordination Centre’s scientific and technical support to Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Coordination Centre will work closely with the IOCCP, which acts as the GOOS Biogeochemistry Panel, to catalyse and facilitate the development of this strategy, building on existing observing programmes, data management structures and coordination bodies where possible. Such a strategy is needed to guide coordinated joint investment by governments to implement a global surface ocean CO₂ monitoring network capable of responding to the needs of global and regional policy drivers, including the UNFCCC Stocktake.

Please see the complete announcement on the EU4OceanObs website here: https://www.eu4oceanobs.eu/surface-ocean-co2-monitoring/