Information
The European Union has committed a substantial €3.5 billion ($3.71 billion) to ocean sustainability initiatives this year, as announced by Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. This pledge was made at the “Our Ocean” conference in Athens, a significant annual event that draws participation from around 120 countries. The funding aims to support a range of projects across multiple EU countries, including sustainable fisheries and combating marine pollution. Specific initiatives include substantial investments in Cyprus, Greece, Poland, and Portugal worth approximately €1.9 billion and measures to tackle marine pollution with an allocation of €980 million from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility for Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy, and Spain.
This conference underscores the EU’s commitment to fostering a “blue economy,” a concept promoted by the World Bank as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and the health of ocean ecosystems. In light of recent findings by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service that ocean temperatures have reached record highs, and with threats such as overfishing and plastic pollution escalating, these initiatives are timely. Greece, hosting the conference and having the longest Mediterranean coastline, is notably proactive, planning to unveil its national strategy on marine biodiversity protection. The commitment reflects a growing global recognition of the need to protect our oceans, with recent research warning that plastic pollution in the oceans could triple by 2040 without additional intervention.
Source: Reuters, DW
So what
In an absolutely mental week, finally, a good news story. It is highly likely that significant investment is required to protect the oceans from damage and while this will go some of the way. Unfortunately, it is almost certain to be effective, it will require a global effort as the vast majority of ocean plastics come from developing nations.
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