Watch video: Susanna Lidström in COP roundtable on Advancing Climate Action in the Deep Ocean
Held on 17 November 2025, this roundtable discussion was organized by the Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative as part of the COP30 Virtual Ocean Pavilion.
Susanna Lidström, researcher at the Division of History at KTH, and Centre for Anthropocene History, KTH, joined a roundtable on Advancing Climate Action in the Deep Ocean at COP.
"Life in the deep ocean plays a fundamental role in the global carbon cycle and Earth’s climate system. However, deep-ocean biodiversity and its importance for climate has so far not been addressed by the UNFCCC, and biodiversity and climate governance have overall been treated separately on the international level. The new Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) offers an opportunity to change this and presents many opportunities for advancing climate goals through protection and governance of deep-ocean biodiversity.
This roundtable discussed these opportunities as well as challenges with the aim of identifying prioritized climate actions in the deep ocean. Speakers introduced the different parts of the BBNJ Agreement and their relevance for climate, and then facilitated a discussion between all roundtable participants on how the mechanisms of the BBNJ Agreement can be used to pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation in the deep ocean."
– Global Ocean Forum and Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative