Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The European Commission has praised the UN High Seas Treaty signed in New York on Saturday as historic, stressing that it will protect oceans.
More than 100 countries finalized the treaty after 15 years of negotiations to protect ocean biodiversity and promote sustainability, according to Reuters reported on Sunday.
Environmental groups welcomed the treaty, expressing hope that it will help to reverse the loss of biodiversity and ensure sustainable development.
The last round of negotiations started last month, with economic interests in focus. Developing countries called for the transfer of technology and a greater share in the “blue economy” as well as sharing the benefits of “marine genetic resources” that some industries use.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, stressed “with the agreement on the UN High Seas Treaty, we take a crucial step forward to preserve the marine life and biodiversity that are essential for us and the generations to come.”
Part of broader efforts
The agreement will add to broader efforts to protect 30% of sea and land by 2030, a target agreed at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December last year.
According to Greenpeace, roughly 11 million square kilometers of oceans need to be protected each year until the turn of the decade to meet the target of 30%.
Campaigner Laura Meller stated, “countries must formally adopt the treaty and ratify it as quickly as possible to bring it into force, and then deliver the fully protected ocean sanctuaries our planet needs.”
“The clock is still ticking to deliver 30 by 30,” she warned and pointed out that a lot of work still needs to be done to meet the 2030 target and protect oceans from overfishing and acidification.
Sweden, which currently presides over the EU, described the agreement as the “most important international environmental deal” since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015.
Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström pointed out in a statement on Saturday “it is also a victory for the UN and the global system that we have managed to deliver such an important agreement at a very challenging time.”