Representatives from more than 100 countries have committed to taking measures to preserve the ocean from human exploitation, including cutting plastic pollution, stepping up the fight against illegal fishing and better protecting international waters.
The 27 EU states and 16 others have agreed to preserve their biodiversity and pursue a global agreement by the end of 2022 to regulate the sustainable use of the high seas – waters lying outside any one country’s jurisdiction. Emmanuel Macron, the French President hosting the sustainability session of the One Ocean summit on Friday, February 11th, said 2022 was, “a decisive year, and we should take here, in Brest, clear and firm commitments.”
John Kerry, the US climate envoy, said it was, “the ocean that makes life on Earth possible, produces more than half of the oxygen we breathe – and even that is at risk. The ocean and climate are inextricably linked. They’re one and the same.”
