The adoption of a final text, the Lisbon Declaration, should mark the end of the United Nations Conference on the Oceans this Friday, in which it is recognized that more ambition is needed to save the oceans.
Under the slogan “Save the oceans, protect the future”, the UN conference, the second on the oceans, gathered in Lisbon some 6,700 peoplewith delegations from 159 countries, which were represented by 15 heads of state, a vice president and 124 ministers.
On Thursday, the Secretary General of the Conference, Liu Zhenmin, assured that the text of the final declaration is closed and that it recognizes the “devastating impacts” of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy based on the oceans and, consequently, , In the health. human life, with an increase in plastic waste in the seas.
The declaration will be adopted at the closing ceremony, between 15:00 and 18:00, following a morning discussion on Sustainable Development Goal 14, the protection of marine life, and the link with other Sustainable Development Goals.
Also Thursday in Lisbon, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will host a new United Nations conference on the oceans in 2025, co-organized with Costa Rica.
Well, the story of the Lisbon conference, which is now ending, is Australia’s announcement to invest 1,100 million euros over the next 10 years in the preservation of the Great Barrier Reef, threatened by global warming, or the commitment of the Program of the United Nations for Development (UNDP) to help recover annually one billion dollars lost due to the misuse and management of the potential of the oceans, the “Promise of the Ocean”.
Kenya, co-organizer of the Conference, announced that it will approve legislation that creates the crime of “ecocide”, and Colombia the approval of the expansion of the marine protected area to 30%.
Portugal, through the voice of the Prime Minister, has set itself the objective in ocean renewable energies to reach ten gigawatts of capacity by 2030 and double the number of “startups” in the blue economy. It also committed to classifying 30% of the national marine areas by 2030.
During the UN conference, it was also decided to create a cooperation platform for Portuguese-speaking countries to promote sustainable fishing and combat illegal fishing.
Marked by some demonstrations, one of them calling for “less talk and more action” in defense of the oceans, and by an “alternative conference” (“Ocean Base Camp”), Lisbon calls for an end to illegal fishing and overfishing, commitments to clean plastics from the sea, more investment in conservation, or more scientific knowledge.
John Kerry, special envoy of the president of the United States for the climate, said that the war in Ukraine is not an excuse to neglect the defense of the environment, as the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, also mentioned. And small island states, including Timor-Leste, have called for more action to address the impacts of global warming and marine pollution, calling for a global treaty on plastics and measures to restore ocean health.
And a call also from the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, for everyone to put pressure on governments and regional authorities, companies and communities due to the urgency of saving the oceans.
Source: Observadora
