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The new commitments include funding to support sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas and improve ocean observation programmes.
The EU has announced 40 commitments to protect the world’s oceans this year, with funding of €3.5bn going into these initiatives.
The pledge was made at the Our Ocean Conference in Greece, which was launched in 2014 to foster global ocean governance and action to support marine conservation and sustainable development.
The commitments cover various themes to protect oceans, including sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas (MPAs), the climate crisis and sustainable blue economies – using the oceans for sustainable economic growth.
The new commitments include an investment of up to €1.9bn to support sustainable fisheries. This funding will be used in Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Poland and Portugal’s recovery and resilience plans to support fishing reforms.
More than €1.3m is being pledged to support the implementation of the Marine Biodiversity of areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, which is an international agreement for the conservation of marine biological diversity, particularly on the high seas.
A total of €103m is being pledged to support ocean observation, using EU Earth observation programmes such as Copernicus, Wekeo and Neccton. It is hoped the funding will support research to advance ocean models for climate predictions.
EU commissioner for environment, oceans and fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said the EU has confirmed its “strong commitment to protect the ocean” with these new pledges.
“The European Union continues standing up for the ocean,” he said. “The ocean is part of who we are, and our shared responsibility. One year after the conclusion of the BBNJ Agreement, I am glad to reiterate, here in Greece, the EU’s ambition to continue acting as a driving force towards ocean sustainability.”
Earlier this year, the EU confirmed Ireland would receive €15.14m towards developing its network of MPAs in Irish waters. But earlier this month, the Irish Government was criticised by the Fair Seas coalition for delaying the introduction of the Marine Protected Areas Bill.
This bill would commit Ireland to effectively protecting 30pc of its seas by 2030. In December 2022, the Irish Government published a general scheme for drafting this bill, but it has faced delays since then. The coalition claimed delays increase the risk that Ireland will miss important climate targets, Afloat reported.
The EU’s Biodiversity Strategy 2030 includes a goal to protect 30pc of its seas by 2030, including 10pc under strict protection for areas of high biodiversity value.
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