On 25 November, the EU Office of the G7 FSOI Coordination Centre and IOCCP hosted a 1-day joined workshop to launch the activity "A Global Surface Ocean CO₂ Monitoring Strategy". This activity, endorsed by the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative at its working group meeting in June, will run for 2 years to develop an internationally-agreed strategy and implementation plan for a global network that can be used by governments for coordinated investment actions. The activity will establish a scientific steering group and an International Mission Team, will build on the existing Surface Ocean CO₂ reference Observing Network (SOCONET), and will include plans for a full-time coordinator as part of the OceanOPS Centre and support to operationalize the data management centres and the data synthesis project SOCAT.

This activity gained momentum at COP 26 following the announcement by NOAA Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad to establish a globally operational Surface Ocean CO₂ Reference Network: "The network will integrate established and proposed national and regional surface ocean carbon dioxide (CO₂) research and monitoring efforts into a global framework, enabling countries to track changes in global ocean uptake of CO₂ over time. Through international engagement, NOAA will facilitate the development of the global network and produce high-value products, such as observation-based annual updates of ocean carbon uptake and changes in ocean acidification, that are critical for decision making about ocean-based mitigation options and marine ecosystem health."

The meeting was led by Maria Hood, Head of the EU Office of the G7 FSOI Coordination Centre, IOCCP Director Maciej Telszewski, and the IOCCP Scientific Steering Group Expert Richard Sanders (Director of the EU Ocean Thematic Centre of the Integrated Carbon Observing System). The IOCCP working group will develop a strategic outline and host an international workshop in the first quarter of 2022 with a goal of a first public release of the strategy in time for the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon next June.