On Tuesday 29 April, at the ‘Our Ocean’ conference in Busan (South Korea), the EU announced support worth €301,485,000.
In concrete terms, €120 million will help African and Pacific countries to strengthen ocean governance and develop their blue economies in a sustainable way, €65.5 million will be used to tackle marine pollution, €40 million will support partner countries in their efforts to preserve and sustainably manage areas of marine biodiversity and rapidly ratify the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, €30 million will be devoted to the ‘Digital Twin Ocean’ project, €2.5 million will go to support sustainable fisheries and €985,000 will strengthen the International Platform for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS).
The remaining €42.5 million will come from the Horizon Europe 2025 work programme, with €31.5 million for research into the link between the ocean, climate and biodiversity and carbon removal, €5 million for the development of the ‘European Blue Park’ and finally, €6 million for research and innovation for Atlantic coastal communities. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)