Global ONCE
Global ONCE
What is Global ONCE?
Global ONCE is a research programme endorsed in June 2022 under the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (202I – 2030) chaired by Prof. Nianzhi Jiao from Xiamen University, China, and with 79 partners from 33 countries. The objective of Global ONCE is to provide ONCE approaches towards achieving the global strategy of data, knowledge and best practices in the application of carbon neutrality by mid century.
Why Global ONCE?
Current international pledges for emission reductions are very likely insufficient to limit temperature increase to less than 2ºC by the end of the century, so further interventions that will increase the uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere will be needed.
The ocean is the largest active carbon reservoir on the Earth, storing an amount of carbon about 20 times that of the land and 50 times that of the atmosphere, and thus possesses huge potential for CO2 negative emissions. All the mechanisms for carbon sequestration in the ocean [Biological Carbon Pump (BCP), Carbonate Counter Pump (CCP), Microbial Carbon Pump (MCP), Solubility Carbon Pump (SCP)] are considered to be integrated as BCP-CCP-MCP-SCP (BCMS) for maximum potential of carbon sink and sustainable development.
What are the Outcomes of Global ONCE?
By 2030, Global ONCE commits to the following outcomes:
• A network of coastal and ocean study sites and experimental infrastructure
• Science, technology and governance frameworks set up for assessment, implementation and monitoring of adaptation and mitigation approaches
• Improved technical and personnel capacity and ocean literacy
• Enhanced ocean-climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, policies and governance
What does Global ONCE deliver?
Global ONCE facilitates the application of ONCE approaches, including coastal and estuarine ecosystem resilience, ocean alkalinity enhancement, artificial up-welling to enhance seaweed cultivation, reduction in land-sourced chemical fertilization to increase the microbial carbon sink in estuaries, and other biogeochemical engineering solutions with co-benefits of addressing ocean acidification, deoxygenation and hypoxia.
Global ONCE generates and disseminates best practices and standards to ensure ONCE applications are legal, quantifiable, verifiable and socially acceptable, and with no or minimal adverse impact to the ocean environment.
Are there any funding opportunities to advance ONCE approaches?
Global ONCE is developing an International Cooperation Fund, to be launched in late 2024, to support collaborative interdisciplinary research to fill the gaps in knowledge, capacity, governance and literacy in scaling up of ONCE approaches.
What are the priority areas for collaborative research?
Thematic priorities
• Microbial, chemical and physical processes which enable the ocean to take up and store CO2
• Methods and models to monitor and evaluate the efficiency of ONCE approaches
• Ecological and technical engineering solutions to scale up ONCE approaches
• Social science and governance/legal frameworks needed to put ONCE approaches into practice
• Model-data integration, data sharing, interoperability standards, and key ocean variables
Other Priorities
• Delivery of nutrients in mariculture areas with upwelling technologies
• Waste water treatment effluent alkalinity enhancement
• Microalgal biomass production and CO2 sequestration using ocean based floating photobioreactors
• Sensor development
• Numerical modelling
• Observation and simulation experimental facilities
• Expert exchange programmes
How Global ONCE is managed?
Global ONCE has set up an implementation mechanism to facilitate and strengthen coordinated, synergistic and collaborative implementation of the Global-ONCE science plan towards its outcomes. The functional bodies include the Executive Committee (EC), the Management Committee (MC), the International Advisory Committee (IAC) and the International Programme Office (IPO). Working Groups on specific topics led by the EC will help fulfil the mission of advancing ocean negative carbon emissions research and network building. Global ONCE is in the process of developing standards of behavior, policies, procedures and practices to fulfil its commitments to the values of professional integrity, respect, fairness, and sustainability.
How to participate in Global ONCE?
Global ONCE accepts participation by projects, activities and contributions endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade to contribute to the objectives of Global ONCE. Research institutes,universities, industries and scientists are also welcome to participate with voluntary contributions.
For Global ONCE Science Plan, please contact:
Professor Nianzhi Jiao
Email: Jiao@xmu.edu.cn
For general information, please contact:
Professor Chuanlun Zhang
Email: globalONCE@xmu.edu.cn
For Job Application, please contact:
cnirhr@xmu.edu.cn
Global ONCE Code of Professional Conduct
Adopted under the UN Ocean Decade Framework
Global ONCE commits to advancing ocean-based climate solutions through scientific excellence, equitable collaboration, and ecological stewardship. This Code upholds the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and responsibility across research, implementation, and engagement.
It operationalizes Global ONCE’s strategic philosophy: Triple REAL principles (Reasonable, Realistic, Reproducible; Ecological, Ethic, Equity; Ambitious, Actionable, Achievable; Legal, London Protocol, Liability).
All participants—scientists, engineers, policymakers, industry partners, and community stakeholders—are expected to adhere to these principles to ensure the program’s credibility, sustainability, and alignment with its mission.
Our professional activities are aimed at creating synergy with key ocean-climate stakeholders to achieve the goals of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
I. Responsibilities to Collaborators, Stakeholders, and Partners
As members of Global ONCE, we commit to:
1. Leadership & Accountability:
· Provide clear oversight for projects under our direction and accept responsibility for ethical, ecological, and safety outcomes.
· Give full and equitable credit for all contributions across disciplines, institutions, and nations.
2. Safe and Inclusive Environments:
· Foster workspaces that are free from discrimination, harassment, and exploitation, prioritizing physical and psychological safety in field, lab, and community settings.
· Actively include voices from underrepresented groups (e.g., Indigenous Peoples and coastal communities).
3. Data and Knowledge Equity:
· Guarantee transparent access to and sharing of data via Global ONCE platforms while respecting sovereignty and intellectual property rights.
· Honor the confidentiality of unpublished data and traditional knowledge shared by partners.
4. Capacity Building and Empowerment:
· Prioritize mentorship, training, and resource-sharing to empower early-career researchers and Global South institutions.
· Focus on developing a robust ecosystem of experts capable of conducting high-quality research and actively participating in global assessment processes (e.g., IPCC, IPBES).
5. Strategic Co-Production:
· Build partnerships with scientific, legal, and policy organizations to co create knowledge, standards, and comprehensive Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems.
· Proactively identify and leverage synergies to address critical legal and governance gaps.
II. Obligations to the Scientific Community
Global ONCE members shall abide to:
1. Rigorous and Reproducible Science:
· Conduct objective, constructive and timely peer review, and uphold scientific integrity (rejecting falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism).
· Communicate methodologies, limitations, and uncertainties openly in publications.
· Plan and conduct research so that its results are reproducible and can be directly integrated into global assessment processes (Global Environmental Assessment, IPCC). This includes the use of standardized protocols, compatible metadata, and a clear description of uncertainties.
2. Collaboration & Transparency:
· Share research outputs (data, models, tools) through Global ONCE’s open-access platforms to accelerate innovation.
· Fulfill all commitments to joint projects, funding, and reporting timelines.
3. Dissemination & Service:
· Publish findings promptly in recognised and accessible formats and promote contribution to global scientific bodies (e.g., IPCC, IOC).
· Engage in the development of standards (e.g., ISO Working Groups for MRV frameworks).
III. Responsibilities to Global Society
As stewards of planetary health, Global ONCE members agree to:
1. Honest Representation of Data and Expertise:
· Distinguish evidence-based knowledge from personal interpretation or advocacy in public and policy communications.
· Fully disclose conflicts of interest (i.e. financial, relational and confidential) in advisory roles.
2. Public Engagement & Education:
· Effectively translate complex science for diverse audiences via suitable media outlets, events, and community dialogues and community dialogues.
· Collaborate with communicators, educators, media, and cultural institutions to advance ocean and climate literacy.
3. Ecological & Ethical Stewardship:
· Prioritise the Precautionary Principle in deploying ONCE technologies (e.g., pilot-scale validation before scaling).
· Minimize environmental harm and uphold relevant national and international laws (e.g., BBNJ Agreement, UNCLOS).
· Uphold and actively contribute to the development of international legal frameworks (e.g., BBNJ Agreement, London Protocol, UNCLOS).
· Center environmental justice by monitoring and assessing impacts on vulnerable ecosystems and communities.
· Apply systems thinking to evaluate trade-offs and synergies (co benefits) in socio-ecological systems, prioritizing solutions that deliver multiple benefits (e.g., carbon sequestration, biodiversity restoration, hypoxia reduction) while minimizing systemic risks.
4. Proactive Governance Shaping:
Move beyond mere compliance to actively participate in working groups (e.g., ISO) and legal initiatives to co-create reliable, fair, and practical governance frameworks for mCDR.
Definitions & Scope
· Harm: Includes acute and long-term ecological disruption (e.g., eutrophication, biodiversity loss), socioeconomic inequity, or violation of cultural heritage and rights.
· Equity: Ensures fair access to resources, benefits, and meaningful participation in decision-making for all participants, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups.
· Compliance: Violations may result in suspension from Global ONCE activities, revocation of funding, or referral to institutional ethics bodies.
· Synergy: Strategic collaboration with key stakeholders to achieve outcomes that are greater than the sum of individual contributions, advancing common goals (Ocean Decade, SDGs).
· Trade-off: A conscious choice where an improvement in one aspect of a system (e.g., carbon sequestration) may lead to the deterioration of another (e.g., local ecosystem function). Researchers have a duty to identify, quantify, and transparently communicate these trade-offs.
· Precautionary Principal: Where activities may risk harm to the environment or human health, measures should be taken to minimise these risks even in the absence of full scientific evidence.