OceanEye International Alliance mobilises new commitments to strengthen the Global Ocean Observing System

A high-level pledging event for the OceanEye International Alliance has brought together governments and international partners to strengthen long-term support for the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), mobilising more than €150 million in new financial and in-kind contributions and securing the engagement of more than 30 countries.

Co-hosted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the event placed sustained ocean observation firmly on the international political agenda. Leaders highlighted the essential role of ocean observations in weather and climate prediction, maritime safety, coastal resilience, sustainable blue economies, fisheries and marine ecosystem protection.

For EuroGOOS, one of the GOOS Regional Alliances, the commitments announced at the event send an important signal of renewed political support for the global ocean observing system and for the national, regional and global partnerships that sustain it.

From national commitments to a stronger global system

GOOS, co-sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), connects 64 countries and 17 global observing networks, with around 8,000 platforms delivering approximately 120,000 in situ ocean observations every day.

Yet speakers throughout the event stressed that this essential infrastructure remains fragile and underfunded. Ocean observing depends heavily on contributions from a relatively small number of countries, while important geographical and observational gaps remain.

The OceanEye International Alliance seeks to address this challenge by broadening the community of countries and partners contributing to GOOS and strengthening the long-term sustainability of ocean observing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an additional €100 million in EU support for ocean observation, on top of €155 million already invested in projects worldwide. She highlighted investments ranging from in situ observations to satellite missions and the European Digital Twin Ocean, stressing the importance not only of collecting observations but of transforming them into information that can support decisions.

Regional cooperation as a bridge between national and global ocean observing

A recurring message throughout the event was clear: no country can observe and understand the ocean alone.

This principle lies at the heart of the GOOS Regional Alliances. By connecting national ocean observing capacities and communities across shared sea basins, regional coordination provides a critical bridge between national investments and the global observing system.

This regional dimension was explicitly recognised in Slovenia’s pledge, which included strengthened engagement in EuroGOOS, MonGOOS and GOOS.

Other pledges similarly highlighted activities that contribute to the wider European and global observing landscape, from sustained North Atlantic and Arctic observations to Mediterranean monitoring, Argo deployments, research vessels and open access to marine data.

These commitments underline the importance of ensuring that new investment builds on and strengthens existing coordination mechanisms, connects observing communities and infrastructures, and supports sustained delivery of interoperable and accessible ocean observations.

Sustaining ocean observations as a global public good

The urgency of sustained investment was reinforced by WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, who described ocean observations as a “global public good” and highlighted their fundamental role in predicting climate variability and extreme weather.

IOC-UNESCO Executive Secretary Vidar Helgesen similarly stressed that the global observing system already exists, but needs to be modernised, optimised and scaled, with investment not only in instruments but also in the coordination and international collaboration required to make the system work.

The event also highlighted the full ocean knowledge value chain. Observations collected at sea, from autonomous platforms and from space underpin data services, forecasting systems and tools such as the European Digital Twin Ocean, enabling ocean data to be transformed into actionable knowledge for science, policy and society.

EuroGOOS welcomes renewed commitment to sustained ocean observing

As one of the GOOS Regional Alliances, EuroGOOS welcomes the renewed political commitment to sustained ocean observing demonstrated at the OceanEye High-Level Pledging Event.

The pledges announced by European countries reinforce many of the observing, data-sharing and coordination activities that underpin Europe’s contribution to GOOS. Turning these commitments into sustained impact will require continued cooperation across national, regional, European and global levels.

EuroGOOS will continue working with its members, regions, task teams, working groups and the wider GOOS community to connect national capabilities, strengthen regional coordination and help ensure that European ocean observations contribute effectively to an integrated, sustained and fit-for-purpose Global Ocean Observing System.

The High-Level Pledging Event marks the beginning of a broader effort to expand the OceanEye International Alliance and mobilise further commitments. As speakers repeatedly emphasised, observing the ocean is a shared responsibility: strengthening the global system depends on countries and partners working together and sustaining the observations on which societies worldwide rely.