The EU has pledged to plush for “unprecedented” protection for the world’s oceans.
This comes after EC President Ursula von der Leyen signed, on behalf of the EU, a new “Treaty for the High Seas.”
The document is also known as the ‘Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction’ (BBNJ) treaty.
The EC calls it a “landmark treaty” which was first agreed in March.
It will be, says the EC, “key to protect the ocean, tackle environmental degradation, fight climate change, and prevent biodiversity loss on the high seas.”
The signature ceremony took place on Wednesday in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, with the participation of EU Commissioner Sinkevičius as well as Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain in his capacity as representative of the Council Presidency.
The signing of the Agreement is, says von der Leyen, a significant milestone on the way to meeting the global commitment of protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.
The text of the Treaty was formally adopted on 19 June, by consensus, at UN Headquarters in New York, and now needs 60 ratifications to enter into force. Once in force, the Treaty will, she says, lead to improved ocean governance in the areas beyond national jurisdiction.
This will cover nearly two-thirds of the world’s ocean and establish large-scale Marine Protected Areas on the high seas, she adds.
Its swift implementation would open up a clear pathway for achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the EC.
A spokesman for the EC said, “The Treaty also sets a framework for a fair and equitable sharing of monetary and non-monetary benefits from marine genetic resources, and for capacity building and transfer of marine technologies to developing countries.”
The high seas provide invaluable ecological, economic, social and food security benefits to humanity and are in need of urgent protection.
Currently, only about 1% of the high seas is protected, while they are under mounting human pressure linked to pollution, overexploitation, climate change and decreasing biodiversity.
The EU and its Member States played a key role, said the EC spokesman, in reaching the agreement back in March this year, by leading the BBNJ High Ambition Coalition of 52 countries. The EU has committed €40 million to support developing countries to ratify the BBNJ and its early implementation.
