Blue Climate Initiative has announced that its inaugural Blue Climate Summit will take place on the m/s Paul Gauguin, May 14-20 in French Polynesia.

The Summit will be co-convened by H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaca, President Edouard Fritch of French Polynesia and others, and will focus on accelerating projects that target six missions: climate change mitigation, ocean protection, CO2 removal, healthy blue communities, sustainable tourism and improved ocean understanding.

Over 250 scientists, innovators, policy makers, business and financial experts, community leaders and environmental and youth activists will be brought together to work on ocean and climate strategies.

The Summit is a program of the Blue Climate Initiative, which was born in French Polynesia and is now a flagship program of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

"There has never been a more important or urgent time for the world to address ocean protection and climate change. With tipping points rapidly approaching, we can’t afford to wait. Rather than just talking about problems, the Blue Climate Summit is focused on action and solutions,” said Stan Rowland, CEO of Blue Climate Initiative.

“We are proud the m/s Paul Gauguin, Tahiti's iconic luxury small ship, has been selected as the host venue,” said Hervé Gastinel, CEO of PONANT, which owns PAUL GAUGUIN Cruises.

“The partnership with the Climate Summit is a natural fit as we also have ambitious objectives to protect the ocean and the communities where our ships visit.”

The full program of events can be found here, which includes a session focused on sustainability in the travel industry. The discussion will be moderated by Ian Randall, science reporter for the UK-based Express Newspapers and feature speakers including Charles Gravatte, General Secretary at PONANT and Mathieu Bechonnet, Managing Director of Air Tahiti Nui.