Justin Kenney, Global Ocean Fellow, began his two-year assignment in the Biden Administration this January, when he joined the State Department’s bureau of ocean, environment, and science. In this first year, the United States has resumed its leadership position on the international stage, and the results have been dramatic. Working alongside Assistant Secretary Monica Medina, Justin has been part of a team that achieved a string of victories, including: The 7th Our Ocean Conference which generated more than $16 billion in new commitments to create protected areas, promote sustainable fishing, reduce pollution, decarbonize the shipping industry, and more. They supported a historic resolution at the United Nations Environment Assembly launching a two-year negotiation process to end the scourge of plastic pollution that chokes our streets, rivers, and beaches. They joined more than 100 other countries in the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People to call for the conservation and protection of at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030—in our own waters and globally. Last month, the Senate ratified the Kigali Amendment, which will phase down global production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), super-polluting chemicals that are hundreds to thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
Africa Oceans Fellow Charlotte Boyd is developing CI’s strategy for supporting oceans work in Mozambique. She is leading a series of virtual and in-person scoping meetings with a wide range of stakeholders from governments, national and international NGOs, and bilateral and multilateral funding agencies to understand the main opportunities and challenges for coastal and marine conservation in Mozambique. Based on these meetings, she developed an interim Mozambique oceans strategy for CI, which will be reviewed and revised through a people- centered strategy design process (IDEO) early 2023.
Charlotte and team also submitted a concept note to a Millennium Challenge Corporation-funded Integrated Climate Management and Coastal Development Project ($50 million-$100 million) centered on Zambezia, the second most-populous province of Mozambique. Based on this concept note, CI has been invited to play a key technical role on developing sustainable conservation finance mechanisms, including a new initiative on irrecoverable carbon, in partnership with BIOFUND (Mozambique’s biodiversity conservation investment fund). The fund will also provide technical assistance to ProAzul (Mozambique’s blue economy development fund) on investments in green-grey infrastructure and other relevant sectors. This two-to-five-year project will provide a key platform for CI to build a long-term program supporting coastal and marine conservation in Mozambique.
Climate Investment and Innovation Fellow Solina Teav works in the Conservation Finance Division to accelerate investments in global carbon projects, while also supporting the design, development and deployment of innovative blended finance strategies. Solina has been leading the Accelerate Nature Fund, CI’s partnership with The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Partnership growth discussions are ongoing while the Conservation Finance Division continues deploying the initial $20 million of capital allocated to the Fund. In August, Solina traveled to Peru to visit the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve REDD+ project — the first project supported by Accelerate Nature. While in Peru, she met with project proponents regarding the business model and participated in a field visit, which allowed her to see first-hand the drivers and agents of deforestation, and to engage with Indigenous communities involved in the project.
