The UK Government announced today that it has created a global alliance to help protect the world’s oceans. So far, Belize, Costa Rica, Finland, Gabon, Kenya, Seychelles, Vanuatu, Portugal, Palau and Belgium have all signed up to the 30by30 initiative, which is pushing for at least 30 per cent of the global ocean to be protected in Marine Protected Areas by 2030.
Responding to the announcement, Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK, said:
“The IPCC will publish a stark warning on the state of our oceans and cryosphere later this week, so we welcome the UK Government’s announcement of an alliance of countries backing the target agreed by scientists of protecting 30% of our oceans by 2030.
“If the Government is serious about meeting this target, a strong Global Ocean Treaty must be agreed by the United Nations next year. We hope to see this coalition of countries calling for real ambition, by ensuring the treaty has powers to establish, manage and most importantly protect a global network of ocean sanctuaries, completely off limits to human exploitation. This would give sensitive parts of our oceans the space and time they need to recover and thrive.
“However, our oceans do not exist in isolation. It’s vital that our Government’s commitments on ocean protection are matched by other actions, both at home and abroad, to radically transform the global economy away from fossil fuels and other destructive industries, to stand a chance of tackling the climate emergency.”
