On Thursday 8 July, the European Parliament called for an international agreement to be reached as soon as possible on the creation of two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctica.
By adopting (588 votes in favour, 21 against and 79 abstentions) a resolution on this issue (https://bit.ly/3hu4nlU ), the European Parliament underlines the urgent need for the parties, who are negotiating in the framework of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), to reach an agreement. Negotiations on the establishment of such MPAs in the Antarctic have stalled (see EUROPE 12709/21).
The Parliament encourages the EU to demand the intensification of bilateral and multilateral efforts, in particular with countries which are opposed to such an agreement.
The two MPAs in question could have a combined area of around 3 million km2 and would form one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in history.
According to the European Parliament, an agreement on the establishment of these two MPAs under CCAMLR could form the basis for the global negotiations at the COP15 UN biodiversity conference in October 2021 in Kunming, China.
MEPs recall the EU’s commitment to marine protection to legally protect at least 30% of the EU’s seas, including the strict protection of 10% of them. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)