EU, France launch High Ambition Coalition on the High Seas

11 / 02 / 2022

• news
• Sustainable Development

The European Union (EU) and the French Presidency of the Council are launching the High Ambition Coalition on the High Seas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the One Ocean Summit, currently held in France’s Brest city.

“The Coalition is calling for the adoption, still this year, of an ambitious treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. We need an international agreement, a legally binding instrument that would sustainably govern the high seas. We are so close, but we need to push,” she added.

“The ocean is a geopolitical arena, but it is also a frontier for the expansion of cooperation and international law. Like in the Ross Sea in Antarctica, which is today a refuge for whales, seals, penguins and fish. Because in 2016, the US, China, Russia, the European Union and others overcame their differences to protect this rich ecosystem. We can do it again. Studies show that we need at least 30% of the ocean protected for it to be healthy. We have seen the extraordinary regenerative power of marine life, like in the Ross Sea. The High Seas Treaty would launch a regeneration wave of our ocean,” she said.

“Every problem is an opportunity for innovation. But we need a clear and ambitious objective. We need a mission, like the European Green Deal. That is why we have launched the ‘Mission to restore our ocean and waters by 2030′. With EUR 0.5 billion in funding from the world’s largest research and development program, Horizon Europe, and other instruments. Our ocean program will focus on Europe’s five seas, and test specific solutions to defined problems. For example, in the Mediterranean, our mission is to prevent and eliminate pollution, in particular plastic, nutrient and chemical pollution. Or consider the Baltic and North Sea: There, our mission is to decarbonize shipping and electrify ports. Throughout its lifetime, the Ocean Mission will move from piloting to deployment, and bring to market innovative solutions to regenerate the ocean. It is a European mission, yet it is open to all who want to contribute. In the Black Sea, for instance, we are already working with all coastal states. Because the actions of one matter to all overlooking those waters. And all solutions must be shared solutions. This is the power of science diplomacy, and its unique potential to overcome differences to improve lives,” she said.

“The ocean is still largely a great mystery for humankind. That is why Europe is building a digital twin of the ocean. We are connecting our assets – like the Copernicus satellites, marine infrastructure like icebreakers, buoys and underwater drones, and high performance computing. We will gather the raw data and turn it into real-time knowledge and longer-term predictions. We are putting the power of the digital revolution at the service of our climate,” she said.

“Let me give you an example. Glaciers in the South and North Poles are melting fast. This is raising water levels, globally, threatening the existence of small island states and coastal cities. But there is more. It is also changing the current that circles the Antarctic, the world’s largest current and a decisive regulator of the climate. It brings ancient waters from the deep to the surface, which should have a cooling effect, but is also releasing more carbon dioxide. We need to better understand these processes and their impact. A digital twin of the ocean can do that, and much more,” she added.

“Thanks to the EU and its Member States, a digital twin should be operational by 2024. It will make ocean knowledge open-access, available to citizens, scientists and policymakers around the world. It will be a platform for global cooperation. It is about putting the capabilities in place to achieve the commitments we make at this Summit. Together, with the digital twin, we will turn the lights on in the ocean,” she concluded.