By Lina Hansson, IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications

A new partnership has been signed which formalizes a long standing collaboration between the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories, hosted by the Principality of Monaco, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation on ocean acidification and ocean-based solutions to climate change. The new Partnership falls under the framework of the IAEA’s Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre and the Foundation’s initiative Ocean Acidification and other Ocean Change – Impacts and Solutions and was signed by the Foundation’s Vice President and CEO, Olivier Wenden, and IAEA Deputy Director-General Najat Mokhtar.

Ocean acidification occurs when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere by human activities. The ocean absorbs about 25 per cent of human-caused CO2 emissions, leading to a series of changes in seawater chemistry, including an increase in acidity.  Ocean acidification impacts marine life, particularly organisms with calcium-based shells or skeletons, such as corals and molluscs. Along with ocean warming and oxygen depletion, these changes create complex and unpredictable challenges for marine ecosystems.

Created in 2006, the Prince Albert II of Monaco, Foundation (PA2F) aims to protect the environment and promote sustainable development.  Ocean acidification and ocean change has been a key focus of the PA2F since 2013 when the Ocean Change – Impacts and Solutions (OACIS) Initiative was launched.

“Ocean acidification is a global problem, but how the effects play out depend on local factors,” said Wenden. “Ocean acidification will hit harder in many regions of the world which do not necessarily have the resources or the capacity to monitor and to adapt. We are thrilled to be teaming up with the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories to help bring knowledge and capacity to study ocean acidification to scientists across the globe”.

OACIS brings together the main organizations working on ocean acidification based in the Principality of Monaco (PA2F, the Monaco Government, the Oceanographic Museum, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories), as well as the Villefranche Oceanographic Laboratory (French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) /Sorbonne Universités), IDDRI and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Mokhtar said: “The IAEA is delighted and proud to formalize its long-lasting collaboration with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a key player in marine conservation both in Monaco and internationally, with whom we share the same values and interests. We are excited to continue to work together to make sure that the scientific data and information needed to take action on ocean acidification is available, and to amplify our impact together, enabling lasting progress for IAEA Member States”.

Ocean acidification is included under the Sustainable Development Goals under Goal 14, and its Target 3, which calls on countries to “minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels”. Addressing ocean acidification is also part of the new Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention of Biological Diversity, under Target 8. Yet, the capacity to monitor and study the effects of ocean acidification on marine biodiversity is largely insufficient in many parts of the world.

The IAEA’s Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC) promotes international collaboration on ocean acidification. The Centre organizes training courses for countries, provides access to data and resources and develops standardized methodologies and best practices. The OA-ICC also works to raise awareness among various stakeholders about the role that nuclear and isotopic techniques can play in assessing ocean acidification’s impacts. Scientists at the IAEA’s Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco use these techniques to investigate the impacts of ocean acidification and its interaction with other environmental stressors.

Under the new partnership, the IAEA and the Foundation will co-organize training courses and expert meetings to empower countries to study and act on ocean acidification and ensure that research in this field is inclusive and participatory. They also plan to organize joint events to raise awareness about the latest research on ocean acidification and ocean-based solutions among policymakers, resource managers and other stakeholders at key ocean gatherings, such as the annual Monaco Ocean Week and the United Nations Ocean Conference and related events to be held in Nice and Monaco in June 2025.

Additionally, the partnership will also explore joint activities related to plastic pollution, another critical area where both the IAEA, through its flagship initiative on plastic pollution (NUTEC Plastics), and the PA2F are actively engaged.

As part of their joint upcoming activities, the two partners are organizing an international Winter School on Ocean Acidification and Multiple Stressors for researchers new to the field, which will take place at the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco from 18-29 November 2024.