EU announces €3.5 billion commitments to protect oceans and promote sustainability

At the last Our Ocean Conference in Greece, the European Union confirmed its strong commitment to international ocean governance by announcing 40 commitments for action by 2024. These actions will be financed with €3.5 billion from various EU funds. They represent the largest amount ever announced by the EU since the inception of the “Our Ocean” Conferences.

 

The Our Ocean Conference is an international effort, launched in 2014 and organised each year by a different government, which aims to promote global ocean governance and action to support marine conservation and sustainable development. This year’s conference calls for joint efforts around the world in support of a safe, secure, clean, healthy and sustainably managed ocean. At the conference, the EU is making commitments to action covering all the themes of this event: sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas, oceans and climate change, sustainable blue economies, marine pollution, maritime security and beyond.

 

EU commitments for a safe, secure, clean, healthy and sustainably managed ocean

Sustainable fisheries:

• up to €1.9 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support sustainable fisheries, one of the largest amounts announced. It will be used in the recovery and resilience plans of Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Poland and Portugal (2020-2026) to support investments and reforms in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
• 23.5 million over the period 2024-2025 to support Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs) and relevant international agreements in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Antarctic Oceans and in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
• 1.5 million to support the implementation of the Agreement on Port State Measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Marine Protected Areas:

• • 1.36 million to support the implementation of the Marine Biodiversity Agreement for Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)
  • 24 million to protect marine biodiversity and preserve marine ecosystems in the Benguela Blue Current (Southern Africa), the Maldives, Suriname and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.

  Ocean and climate change:

  • EUR 103 million for ocean observation programmes (Copernicus, Wekeo, Neccton) and research to boost ocean models for climate predictions.

  Sustainable blue economies:

  • up to €130 million under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. To be used for recovery and resilience plans in Italy and Portugal to support two investments (2020-2026) in the sustainable blue economy.
  • 134 million to help African countries develop their blue economy in a sustainable way. This corresponds to €59 million for West Africa, €10 million for Mauritania, €35 million for Mozambique and €30 million for Angola.

Marine Pollution:

• up to €980 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. To be used in the recovery and resilience plans of Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Finland (2020-2026) to support four investments and two reforms to combat marine pollution.

Maritime safety:

• EUR 45 million to improve maritime safety and security in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Guinea regions in Africa.

Support for the Mediterranean:

• The EU and Sweden commit €7.5 million to the Blue Mediterranean Partnership to support the sustainable development of a blue economy in the Mediterranean region. This is in line with the European Green Pact, the EU Agenda for the Mediterranean and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial Declaration on the sustainable blue economy.
• 2 million for the project to support the Southern Mediterranean Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in the implementation of the ecosystem approach to good environmental status (EcAp MED PLUS), from 2024 to 2027.

 

Commission invests more than EUR 233 million in strategic environment and climate projects across Europe

 

Research:

• Through the EU’s ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’ mission, €92.3 million has been committed to restore our blue planet and ensure a sustainable blue economy.

Background

The ocean and seas cover 71% of the earth’s surface. The ocean is under pressure: it is suffering from global warming, unsustainable practices, illegal fishing, pollution and loss of marine habitats. The Our Ocean Conference aims to step up collective efforts to address these issues. It brings together countries from around the world, civil society and industry to inspire joint solutions and present ambitious commitments to protect the oceans. Initially launched in 2014, the Our Ocean Conference has since mobilised more than 2,160 commitments worth approximately $130 billion.

The EU has developed a commitment tracking tool available on the Our Ocean website. This allows citizens to track progress in the implementation of all commitments made at all “Our Ocean” Conferences.

In addition to its commitments, the EU has co-organised a high-level side event calling for swift ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, together with the governments of Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, France, the Republic of Korea, Nigeria and Palau, as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Bloomberg Philanthropies Ocean Initiative, the High Seas Alliance, Mission Blue, Pew, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the European Conservation Bureau. The EU has also organised side events on the EU Ocean Mission (16 April) and on oceans and climate with Mercator Ocean International (15 April).

 

More information: European Commission