If one so wished, it will be completely doable to spend a lifetime travelling from one worldwide environmental convention to the following, with out ever returning house. However the relentless tempo of those conferences doesn’t at all times translate into equally speedy motion.
As an alternative, the result’s usually painfully gradual progress, watered down commitments and timelines that may stretch into years if not a long time. Public frustration is mounting, uninterested in damaged guarantees. It needs motion to deal with the local weather and biodiversity crises earlier than it’s too late.
On this void of worldwide environmental management, the European Union has a chance to step up on the stewardship of our planet’s biggest shared useful resource: the ocean.
Credit score: Josh Sorenson
The ocean is Earth’s life help system. It covers over 70% of our planet, regulates the local weather by absorbing carbon dioxide, produces no less than half of the oxygen we breathe, sustains tens of millions of livelihoods, offers meals for billions, and holds mysteries we have solely simply begun to uncover.
But, regardless of its basic function in planetary well being and human survival, the ocean stays below fixed assault from local weather change, air pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction.
Most alarmingly, huge areas of the ocean — particularly the Excessive Seas — stay dangerously below protected.
That’s the reason it’s each outstanding and welcome that, as EU Council President Antonio Costa highlighted, all 27 EU Heads of State and Authorities reached – for the very first time – formidable conclusions on the ocean on the March 2025 European Council.
Amongst these was a dedication to swiftly ratify the brand new Excessive Seas Treaty, a landmark worldwide settlement finalized in 2023 after practically twenty years of negotiations.
This treaty, also referred to as the Biodiversity Past Nationwide Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Settlement, is a cornerstone of marine conservation and was hailed as a serious victory for multilateralism. It holds huge potential to guard marine life in Excessive Seas — the two-thirds of the ocean that lie past nationwide borders. However treaties don’t defend ecosystems — international locations do.
And until 60 nations ratify the settlement so it could actually enter into drive, its historic potential will stay nothing greater than phrases on paper.
Right here, the EU has an opportunity to guide by instance — and by numbers. With its 27 member states, it holds the important thing to being a game-changer in accelerating the method of entry into drive. The EU finalized its ratification in June 2024, however progress amongst particular person member states has lagged.
As of now, solely France and Spain have formally deposited their ratification devices with the United Nations. A number of others are shut, however the general momentum is inadequate. In a constructive improvement aimed toward facilitating ratification and making ready for implementation, the EU Fee has not too long ago proposed a Directive for transposing the BBNJ Settlement into EU regulation.
Member states should urgently velocity up their nationwide processes to finish their ratification and ship a robust sign of worldwide management. This urgency and roadmap are outlined intimately in Europe Jacques Delors’ most up-to-date coverage transient, which highlights the important thing institutional, authorized, and diplomatic levers obtainable to the EU and its member states.
The stakes couldn’t be larger. 40% of EU residents reside in coastal areas, which contribute round 40% of the EU’s GDP. The EU, along with its abroad territories, additionally has the biggest Unique Financial Zone on the planet. From financial stability to power safety and meals provide, the ocean is inextricably tied to Europe’s prosperity. A degraded ocean means a much less safe, much less resilient, and fewer affluent Europe.
True management means greater than making daring declarations, it’s about delivering outcomes.
This June, the third UN Ocean Convention (UNOC3) will happen on European soil — in Good. The Convention has been designated as the important thing political second to safe the 60 ratifications wanted to set off the Treaty’s entry into drive.
Reaching this objective is important not solely to uphold the EU management and credibility on ocean governance, but additionally to fulfill broader worldwide commitments — together with the Kunming-Montreal World Biodiversity Framework’s objective of defending 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30×30).
The EU should intensify its ‘blue diplomacy’, leveraging initiatives just like the Excessive Ambition Coalition for the Excessive Seas Treaty, which it helped set up, to drive international ratification and implementation efforts of its 52 members. This convention must show that after once more environmental multilateralism can nonetheless ship when it issues most.
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The EU has set an formidable course on ocean governance. The approaching launch of the European Ocean Pact, which builds on the foundations laid by the Manifesto for a European Ocean Pact initiated by Europe Jacques Delors and Oceano Azul Basis, and the current EU Council conclusions on the Ocean, are sturdy alerts of intent.
With the worldwide order in flux and geopolitical alliances shifting quickly, the EU should work collectively and embrace its function as each a stabilizing drive and a champion of the ocean. Delivering on the Excessive Seas Treaty — by means of swift ratification, diligent preparation for implementation, and the institution of a sturdy governance framework — can be a defining second for the EU. It’s a check of its credibility, management, and imaginative and prescient for the longer term.
The world is watching. The ocean is ready. And the clock is ticking.
Pascal Lamy is the Vice-President of Europe Jacques Delors and former Director-Basic of the WTO. Geneviève Pons is the Vice-President and Director Basic of Europe Jacques Delors and a number one advocate for ocean conservation.
IPS a bureau
