The National Oceanography Centre is active on the international stage at many forums, and as partners across UK government and European programmes.

Ocean affairs are rapidly rising up international political and economic agendas, driving increased demand for trusted high-quality scientific data and advice.

The open ocean, in particular, is an economic, geopolitical, technological and scientific frontier as the quest for security, energy, food, minerals and genetic resources moves into deeper, unexplored waters.

In the UK, this demand will rapidly increase for a number of reasons, including: ​

  • As the UK leaves the European Union, important ocean policy areas will revert to full UK responsibility, with the opportunity to develop new evidence-based policy where appropriate.​
  • As part of the ‘Global Britain’ agenda, the UK is exercising greater international influence in ocean affairs stemming from its scientific expertise and wider interests​.

The growing prominence of ocean issues in international fora is demonstrated by major agreement frameworks, e.g. UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030; UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development; Paris Climate Change Agreement; UN Regular Process for World Ocean Assessment; G7 Future of the Seas initiative (Ocean Observing); G20 interest in sustainable ocean economies; Commonwealth Blue Charter.

The NOC currently plays a vital role in delivering scientific and technical advice to underpin diverse UK interests in international ocean affairs. To achieve this, the NOC draws on a critical mass of independent, distinctive, scientific and technical expertise across a broad range of disciplines and we use these to engage with partners on the international stage.

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Partnerships Team

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