On Friday 24 June, the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy unveiled the EU’s new international ocean governance programme.
The communication contains proposals for action for safe, clean and sustainably managed oceans.
The EU wishes to confirm its active role in international ocean governance and its commitment to strengthening the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goal 14 on aquatic life.
The new programme is an important part of the implementation of the ‘blue’ part of the ‘European Green Deal’. The EU is therefore demonstrating its strong commitment to the oceans ahead of the 2nd UN Ocean Conference (27 June-1 July 2022, Lisbon) and the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) (5-17 December 2022, Montreal). The Commission has just adopted its proposal for legally binding targets to restore ecosystems, including at sea.
The new Communication builds on the 2016 Communication and takes into account key developments such as the worsening effects of climate change and the dangerous decline in biodiversity. It also takes into account the changing geopolitical conditions, such as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
In particular, the EU commits to: - strengthen the international ocean governance framework at global, regional and bilateral levels; - halt the loss of marine biodiversity by concluding an ambitious UN treaty on the high seas as soon as possible and by achieving the 30% target for marine protected areas by 2030; - protect the seabed by banning deep-sea mining; - combat climate change.
Link to the text of the paper: https://aeur.eu/f/2aw (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)