Royalty and some of the world’s leading experts on ocean risk issues will speak at a first-of-its-kind conference in Bermuda next month.

Prince Albert II of Monaco, Queen Noor of Jordan, and Peter Thomson, the United Nations’ special envoy for the ocean, are among speakers for the Ocean Risk Summit, a three-day event taking place from May 8 to 10.

The event will examine the challenges and risks posed by ocean change and identify the opportunities it presents for “innovative approaches to building resilience and mitigating its effects through applied solutions”.

The summit is bringing together leaders from across the political, economic, environmental and risk management sectors to identify short and long-term exposures to ocean-driven hazards and consider how to use new approaches, tools and technologies to find solutions that will build resilience at local, regional and global levels.

Issues that will be highlighted include the impact of hurricanes in the Caribbean and plastic pollution, to the importance of ecosystem services protecting coastlines and the need for aquaculture to maintain global food security.

Among more than 40 guest speakers are José Maria Figueres, former president of Costa Rica, Kendrick Pickering, deputy premier of the Virgin Islands, and Professor Kerry Emanuel of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The summit is being sponsored by XL Catlin along with other scientific and Bermudian-based partners.

Mike McGavick, XL Catlin’s chief executive officer is another of the speakers, along with Craig McLean, acting chief scientist of Noaa, retired US Navy Vice-Admiral Michael Franken, and professor Bill Curry, president of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

One of the sessions will look at ocean rise from an insurance and finance perspective, while another looks the impact of ocean volatility on markets and trends, one of the featured speakers is Kathy Baughman McLeod, global environmental and social risk executive at Bank of America.

There will be “deep dive” sessions exploring weather and climate, and health and security. A number of interactive working group sessions, including one focused on cities and coastal infrastructure, will take place on the finial day of the summit.

Further details about the Ocean Risk Summit, including registration, can be found at http://oceanrisksummit.com/