On 23 September 2026, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) hosted the launch of the OceanEye International Alliance.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have officially launched the OceanEye International Alliance for the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) at a high-level pledging event at UN Headquarters in New York, organised with IOC-UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the two co-sponsors of GOOS. The event took place on 23 September 2026 during the High-Level Week of the 81st UN General Assembly.
GOOS brings together 64 countries, 17 global observation networks and 8,000 platforms delivering 120,000 observations per day. Yet the system rests on fragile foundations: 90% of global observations are funded by just 9 countries, leaving it exposed to financial and geopolitical disruptions, with the risk of data gaps, interrupted long-term records and a degraded global monitoring system.
The launch delivered a strong first response. A total of 31 members have joined the Alliance, and over CAD 339 million (€211 million) has been secured so far through financial contributions, in-kind support and assets such as research vessels, sensors, drones and data-processing facilities. The Alliance also aims to strengthen coordination and encourage national commitments, including connecting national ocean data with global data systems. The launch marks the start of a wider international mobilisation for 2026-2028 and beyond, with further pledging opportunities at COP31, the 12th Our Ocean Conference and the fourth UN Ocean Conference.
Why this matters for the EOSC Node European Digital Twin Ocean
A digital twin of the ocean is only as good as the observations behind it. As the marine thematic node of the European Open Science Cloud, supporting collaborative marine science and the European Digital Twin Ocean programme, the EOSC Node European DTO depends on a reliable, continuous flow of high-quality ocean data to power its Virtual Research Environments, scientific applications and FAIR data services.
By securing long-term funding for GOOS, the Alliance protects exactly what the Node's users need most: sustained, long-term records and better coverage of today's observation gaps. Its commitment to reliable, open and free access to ocean data for the EU and its international partners also mirrors the Node's own open science approach, which lets data flow from European Research Infrastructures to end-users without imposing access restrictions. Stronger observations in, better science and better digital twin services out.