Press Release
(Oslo 2.12.2020)
The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Ocean (C4IR Ocean) responds to the call from Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and the other 13 heads of state in the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy and takes on the leadership of the panel’s Action Coalition on Ocean Data, in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation.
Today, the 14 heads of state of the Ocean Panel, controlling nearly 40 percent of the world’s coastlines and 30 percent of the world’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs), have put forward ambitious plans to protect our ocean. They have committed to sustainable management of 100 percent of the ocean ensuring the health and wealth of our ocean for future generations.
C4IR Ocean will work with Microsoft in taking the leadership of the crucial action coalition on ocean data. Data liberated, safeguarded, and made available by the Ocean Data Action Coalition is essential in realizing all the priority actions outlined by the heads of state.
“We need a globally shared ocean data revolution to save the ocean. The Ocean Data Action Coalition will be a substantial contributor to this revolution. At the core of the coalition is the Ocean Data Platform, powered by Cognite Data Fusion, and managed jointly with Microsoft. The Ocean Data Platform liberates and connects ocean data to enable better ocean management and solutions. Only the sharing and meaningful use of relevant data will ensure a healthy and productive ocean”, says Øyvind Eriksen, President and CEO of Aker and chairman of C4IR Ocean.
Microsoft is already heavily involved in sustainable ocean management through its corporate water sustainability program and as a co-founding partner of C4IR Ocean.
“We are only as healthy as our ocean, which is critical to ensuring the planet doesn’t warm more than 1.5 degrees and to economic security around the world. But climate change, pollution, and over-exploitation of marine systems are putting the ocean in jeopardy,” says Lucas Joppa, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer. “Microsoft and C4IR Ocean are committed to ocean health and share a vision about using data and technology to achieve it. All of us need to do more to protect the ocean. The call for action from the heads of state and the work led by the Ocean Data Action Coalition and C4IR Ocean will significantly contribute to a healthy ocean.”
Anchoring the Ocean Data Action Coalition in C4IR Ocean, an independent and non-profit foundation established jointly by Aker and World Economic Forum, will link the initiative to partners from essential sectors. The Coalition will work closely with the 14 states of the panel to support their efforts to develop integrated ocean management based on the recommendations and actions proposed by the High-Level Panel for Ocean Economy.
“C4IR Ocean unites leading private sector actors, leading research institutions and key governmental institutions. The C4IR Ocean is part of a broad global ocean network through the World Economic Forum, World Resources Institute, and the Friends of Ocean Action. The center is also a key supporter to the UN Decade for Ocean Science. This gives us a head start when we now invite motivated and powerful companies and institutions to join forces with us,” says CEO of C4IR Ocean, Bjørn Tore Markussen.
About the High-Level Panel of Ocean Economy
The High-Level Panel for Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) is an initiative of 14 current world leaders building momentum towards a sustainable ocean economy. Established in September 2018, the Ocean Panel has been working with governments, businesses, financial institutions, the science community and civil society to catalyze and scale solutions across policy, governance, technology and finance, and ultimately develop a new ocean action agenda for transitioning to a sustainable ocean economy. Conclusions were presented on December 2, 2020.
The members are Prime Minister Morrison (Australia), Prime Minister Trudeau (Canada), President Piñera (Chile), Prime Minister Bainimarama (Fiji), President Akufo-Addo (Ghana), President Widodo (Indonesia), Prime Minister Holness (Jamaica), Prime Minister Suga (Japan), President Kenyatta (Kenya), President López Obrador (Mexico), President Geingob (Namibia), Prime Minister Solberg (Norway), President Remengesau (Palau) and Prime Minister Costa (Portugal). In addition, Peter Thomson, the UN Special Envoy for the Sea, is a support member.
About C4IR Ocean
Aker and the World Economic Forum are behind C4IR Ocean, which is part of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) network. The network, comprising of 13 centers globally, develop projects to enable modern technology and digitalization to solve important societal tasks. The objective of C4IR Ocean is to bring industry, academia, government, and the public together to create new and better ways of harnessing rapidly emerging data technologies to heal and restore the ocean so it can be resilient and economically productive. The C4IR Ocean flagship project is the Ocean Data Platform, a global connector of ocean data.
Contact:
C4IR Ocean:
Bjørn Tore Markussen, CEO
C4IR Ocean
Tel. +47 909 15 668