Paris, Feb 12 : French President Emmanuel Macron held a high-level summit aimed at protecting the world’s oceans, with representatives of more than 100 countries.
The One Ocean Summit in Brest brought together heads of state and government, leaders of multilateral institutions, shipping companies and civil society policymakers to unite in supporting the “Brest Commitments for the Oceans”, reports Xinhua news agency
During the summit, panels were held on various commitments to marine protection and tackling climate change.
Macron confirmed the summit’s goal of “making commitments to bring forward useful actions and an essential international agenda for 2022”.
Countries participating in the summit said they would respect the 13 Brest Commitments for Oceans, which include protecting biodiversity and ocean resources.
Some 84 countries are aiming to ensure protection of 30 percent of the world’s land and sea biodiversity by 2030.
More countries joined the “High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People”, and “the High Ambition Coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction”. They also ratified agreements to fight against illegal fishing.
Leaders of shipping companies committed to the new Green Marine Europe label, but called on politicians consider the cost of renewable energy.
In order to reduce pollution, Mediterranean countries and the EU have committed to asking the International Marine Organization to create a low sulphur emissions zone across the Mediterranean, starting on January 1, 2025.
France and Colombia also launched a global coalition to finance the restoration of marine ecosystems that capture and store “blue (marine) carbon”, and called on other countries to join.
The third commitment is to end plastic pollution of the oceans, with financial support from various banks to the tune of 4 billion euros by 2025.
During the summit, the “New Plastics Economy Global Commitment” was joined by Greece, Italy, Colombia, the Republic of Korea, the city of Paris and Central Greece, as well as 250 companies.
Commitments from the One Ocean Summit will be discussed again at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal in June, and during the COP27 in Egypt in the autumn.(IANS)