“Our Ocean Conference 2024”: The Major International Conference in Greece Highlighted at Davos

A high-level roundtable discussion on ocean protection entitled “Ocean Race High Level – Ocean Roundtable” was held in Davos, Switzerland, with the participation of distinguished global figures and representatives of international organizations, including HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson.

The initiative for organizing the roundtable, hosted at the Greek House Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), was undertaken by Dr. Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou, Special Envoy of the Greek Prime Minister for the Oceans and Coordinator of the global “Our Ocean Conference 2024,” in cooperation with The Ocean Race and the Friends of Ocean Action initiative of the World Economic Forum.

The event provided an opportunity to discuss the expected outcomes of two major upcoming international ocean conferences in Europe: the Our Ocean Conference in Athens in April 2024 and the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in June 2025.

Participants included Richard Brisius, Chairman of The Ocean Race, Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars, Paul Simpson, CEO and Founder of Cornerstone United Holdings Jamaica, and Barbara Karuth-Zelle, COO of Allianz, all of whom expressed their companies’ commitment to marine environmental protection. Alfredo Giron, Head of Friends of Ocean Action at the World Economic Forum, and Johan Strid, Director of The Ocean Race and co-moderator of the panel alongside Dr. Avgerinopoulou, also praised Greece’s leadership on ocean protection and the upcoming 9th Our Ocean Conference to be hosted in Greece on 15–17 April 2024.

The discussion emphasized the need for a new relationship between humanity and the oceans, focusing on marine biodiversity, marine protected areas, and measures to reduce marine pollution.

In her remarks, Dr. Avgerinopoulou warmly thanked U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry for entrusting Greece with hosting the 2024 global conference and highlighted the importance Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis places on marine environmental protection. She also underlined the link between ocean protection and the climate crisis, noting that the Our Ocean Conference would address issues such as ocean-climate interconnections, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the blue economy, sustainable fisheries, maritime security, and marine pollution.

“This year Greece will place particular emphasis on green shipping, sustainable tourism, plastic pollution, and the Mediterranean region,” Dr. Avgerinopoulou stated, stressing the urgent need for collective action to address the threats facing the planet’s ecosystems.