The Global Oceans Treaty agreed on today is the biggest conservation agreement in the history of the world. It provides a pathway to establish marine sanctuaries so that countries can turn their commitment to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030 into a reality…This is a huge victory for the billions of people who depend on healthy oceans and for the animals that call the oceans home. It is a win against climate change and biodiversity loss. Everyone on Earth should breathe a collective sigh of relief.
In response to nations finalizing text for a Global Oceans Treaty, Arlo Hemphill, Greenpeace USA’s senior oceans campaigner, said: “The Global Oceans Treaty agreed on today is the biggest conservation agreement in the history of the world. It provides a pathway to establish marine sanctuaries so that countries can turn their commitment to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030 into a reality. This is the minimum scientists have said we need to prevent ecosystem collapse in the oceans – our greatest shared resource and the foundation of life on this planet. This is a huge victory for the billions of people who depend on healthy oceans and for the animals that call the oceans home. It is a win against climate change and biodiversity loss. Everyone on Earth should breathe a collective sigh of relief. Although the treaty is pending formal adoption, we now have the legal framework to protect and better manage over half of our planet.”
John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA’s Oceans Campaign Director, said: “This giant stride forward for all our oceans, for all of us, was over ten years in the making. Sanctuaries are the best tool we have to protect biodiversity, restore depleted populations, and give our oceans the resilience they need to survive climate change and plastic pollution. Now it is time to celebrate, along with the five and a half million people who joined us in pushing for this treaty. Then it will be time to put the treaty to work and move quickly to establish sanctuaries in places like the Sargasso Sea, the Emperor Seamounts, and the Arctic Ocean.
Hocevar added: “It was heartening to see delegates from all over the world come together this week and work through the night and late into Saturday to get this done. If over 180 countries can get past their differences and find common ground, there’s no excuse for U.S. members of Congress to let politics get in the way of what needs to be done. We will continue to hold the U.S. government’s feet to the fire to ensure they lead the way by ratifying this treaty quickly and working to implement real protections at sea. We will demand the same from other countries in the High Ambition Coalition.”