On the morning of May 11, International Forum on Blue Carbon and Sustainable Development 2025 (BCSD2025) jointly hosted by Ocean University of China (OUC), the University of Portsmouth (UoP), and the UNESCO Chair in Ocean Governance, and co-organized by the International Cooperation Center for the Ocean Decade and Qingdao Economy Industry Association for Carbon Neutrality, opened in Qingdao. Attendees included Professor Justin Ahanhanzo, Honorary Chair of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO; Liu Xianyong, Director of the Climate Change Response Division of the Shandong Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment; Zhao Chen, Senior Science & Research Manager at British Council China; Fang Yinxia, Director of the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources; Ma Liqing, Senior Researcher at the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee; and Wang Houjie, Vice President of Ocean University of China (OUC).
Justin Ahanhanzo highlighted the profound significance of interdisciplinary, transnational, and transcontinental cooperation in marine science. He hoped that all parties would further deepen friendly collaboration and achieve new breakthroughs in blue carbon.
Liu Xianyong noted that Shandong province, as a major coastal economic and maritime province in eastern China, has vigorously implemented the national dual carbon strategy in recent years. Shandong has prioritized the preservation and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems as a key measure to address climate change, thereby developing the exemplary Shandong Model. It is hoped that this model will contribute more Shandong wisdom and Chinese strength to global sustainable development.
Zhao Chen fully affirmed the significant role that blue carbon plays in the global response to climate change. He suggested that all parties establish long-term and stable partnerships in education and policy research to continuously deepen international cooperation.
Wang Houjie noted that OUC highly values collaborative innovation with global partners. He expressed his hope to leverage this forum as an opportunity to deepen multilateral exchanges and cooperation, integrate global intellectual resources, and jointly contribute blue strengths to promote global sustainable development.
At the forum, Professor Pierre Failler, UNESCO Chair in Ocean Governance and Director of the Centre for Blue Governance at UoP, and Professor Li Jianping, Director of the Ocean Carbon Neutrality Center and Dean of Academy of Future Ocean at OUC, served as co-chairs and delivered keynote reports. Additionally, 24 scholars from renowned universities and organizations including Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, UoP, the University of Algarve, Pukyong National University, the University of Western Brittany, Tsinghua University, Sun Yat-sen University, Beijing Normal University and OUC presented insightful reports.
The two-day forum gathered 120 experts, scholars, international students, faculty members and students from 11 countries, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and South Korea. With a focus on Blue Carbon and Global Sustainable Development”, all the participants engaged in discussions on three key topics: blue carbon and climate change, blue governance and healthy oceans under the background of carbon neutrality, and ocean sustainable development and blue carbon finance.
