Lack of scientific support may deter representatives and experts from 90 ocean countries from bringing up the significance of oceans in climate change to the UN talks in Copenhagen in December.

Bringing ocean issues to the UN talks is crucial as it will attract global attention and funding from bilateral and multilateral agreements, with developing countries likely to get funding for their adaptation and mitigation programs in dealing with the impacts of climate change, observers say.

Mitigation programs involve taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing carbon dioxide levels, while adaptation refers to activities and policies to cope with the changing environment.

The conference's declaration draft clearly acknowledges "the crucial role of the ocean in regulating the world's climate. will contribute to both accelerating and dampening the rate of climate change", while also recognizing that marine ecosystems have "significant potential for addressing the adverse impact of climate change, including trough carbon sequestration and carbon storage".

With the ocean's underlining role, participating countries ask the UN secretary-general in the draft declaration to "integrate ocean considerations into the UN's climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, and invite parties of the UN Copenhagen meeting to consider the ocean dimension in the post 2012 framework".

The Copenhagen meeting will discuss a new regime on climate change to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in 2011.

With mitigation referring mostly to the ability to absorb carbon dioxide, the main contributor to global warming, and special adaptation funds for oceans requiring proof of concrete impacts of climate change on ocean countries, the conference needs solid support from scientific research to win over the UN's influential and developed member states, including the US and the EU.

However, scientists here remain divided over the role of oceans on climate change, with some saying oceans are in reality carbon emitters, rather than carbon sinks.

"We have no conclusive and final research on the role of oceans on climate change. In general, oceans are naturally carbon dioxide emitters," Iwan Eka, an oceanography expert at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), said Sunday.

"With climate temperatures getting higher, more carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere."

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi has repeatedly said Indonesia's 5.8 million square kilometers of sea could absorb around 245 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

"It's too soon to conclude, as we are yet to conduct comprehensive research on the relation between climate change and the oceans," Iwan said.

On the sidelines of the WOC and CTI Summit, some 1,500 experts will also hold an international symposium on ocean policies and science and technology to try to reach a consensus on the role of the oceans in climate change.

The Indonesian government says it hopes the symposium will come up with the consensus to support the political decision in the Manado Ocean Declaration, saying it will table the scientific support at the 31st session of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that runs from Oct. 26 to 29 in Bali.

The IPCC is the world's only authoritative body on scientific climate matters. It was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and is currently working on its fifth assessment report, including on the ocean. The report will be complete in 2014.

The IPCC's fourth report has fully convinced the world to unite to address the impacts of climate change.

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