This year, more world leaders and citizens wake up to the fact that global Ocean health is vital to our planet and our future – including as a powerful source of climate solutions. As John Kerry proclaimed in the run up to the Climate Leaders Summit, “Ocean and climate stewardship are two sides of the same coin”. With 43 countries now supporting the Global Ocean Alliance 30x30 initiative, the Ocean is finally starting to get the attention it deserves. And this Earth-Ocean connection is more important than ever. As the just-released 2nd World Ocean Assessment declares: greater understanding of the Ocean is essential if the world is to recover from COVID-19, combat climate change, and achieve the SDGs. The post-pandemic recovery must be both 'green' and 'blue'.
Seen from the Lighthouse– What's happening now?
Antarctica Ahoy - #CallOnCCAMLR campaign launch
April saw the launch of a global campaign to #CallOnCCAMLR to protect the Ocean around Antarctica by creating 3 vital new MPAs in 2021. Since Earth Day, 176,000 people have now signed the petition demanding that CCAMLR member states finally reach a consensus on the 3 MPAs needed to protect Antarctic marine life, from orcas to penguins to krill, and boost resilience to climate change – that’s happening faster in Antarctica than anywhere else on Earth. If an agreement is reached at CCAMLR’s meeting in October, it will expand the protection of the Southern Ocean by almost 4 million km2 in the greatest act of ocean protection in history. It’s a once-in-a-generation chance and the momentum behind it is growing, so make sure you add your name to the petition too, share the #CallOnCCAMLR animation, and tell your friends and colleagues to Call on CCAMLR as well!
Momentum is definitely building. On 28th April, the European Commissioner (and Ocean Unite Network member) Virginijus Sinkevičius, hosted a ministerial meeting to build support among CCAMLR members for the designation of new MPAs in the Southern Ocean resulting in a joint declaration and announcement by the US (John Kerry) and New Zealand that they will be joining on as proponents to the East Antarctic and Weddell Sea.
The US has added securing the protection of these areas to their list of priorities and President Biden’s Climate Envoy, John Kerry, has joined the #CallOnCCAMLR movement. Securing the support of Russia and China will be challenging but, as Ocean Unite Network Member Pascal Lamy writes in the case of China, their leadership in the Southern Ocean is indispensable. The science is clearly telling us that sitting on the side-lines is not an option. A study published this month projects that a third of the ice shelves holding back Antarctica’s huge glaciers are at risk of collapse if the world fails to take action on climate change. Limiting global heating to 2C would halve the area of ice shelf at risk and potentially avoid significant sea level rise and give a better fighting chance for the Plight of the Penguins currently besieged by climate change and biodiversity loss. The 3 MPAs on the table at CCAMLR will help throw a ring of protection around the fragile frozen foundation of our planet and its unique wildlife – let’s make it happen in 2021.
US Climate Leaders Summit ups the ante for ambitious action
President Biden further concretized the new era of US climate leadership days before his Earth Day Leaders Summit on 22nd & 23rd April by announcing a nationally determined contribution (NDC) to reduce US emissions by 50%-52% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, setting the US on a path to net zero emissions by 2050, and calling on fellow world leaders to raise their game too. Canada, Japan and others went on to announce increases to their commitments during the Summit itself, meaning that – along with the UK’s pre-Summit pledge to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 and the EU’s new Climate Law binding them to at least 55% cuts by 2030 – Biden was able to claim at the Summit that more than half the world’s economy is now committed to the pace of action needed to limit warming to 1.5C. In a year when ambitious, urgent climate action is crucial to the future of humanity, the Climate Leaders Summit sets the stage for the game-changing action we so desperately need. These leaders now need to follow through with ambitious action and implementation.
Enter the Ocean. The high-level pre-Summit event on 20th April on How Ocean-Based Solutions Contribute to Net Zero, emphasized a dramatic increase in climate ambition is essential to protect the health of our Ocean, and the Ocean can help us meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Among the new US climate commitments announced at the Summit on the 22nd are pledges to fund nature-based approaches to coastal community and ecosystem resilience and to promote resilience in the Southern Ocean – including another shout out in support of the 3 MPA proposals in the Southern Ocean before CCAMLR. It’s good to see the Ocean finally rippling into the mainstream climate debate.
Victory! The Maldives to remain a shark sanctuary
On the 20th of April, a statement from the Maldives Ministry of Fisheries was met with toothy grins and sighs of relief from shark lovers everywhere. After months of intense concern that the island state was considering lifting their 11-year-old ban on shark fishing – triggering a dynamic campaign by the Maldives #SaveOurSharks Alliance supported by 225 local and international NGOs and stakeholders – the government announced that "the Maldives does not intend to permit a targeted shark fishery in the Maldives".
It’s news worth celebrating. The waters around the Maldives are one of only 17 shark sanctuaries in the world – and the only one in the Indian Ocean – providing a safe haven for over 30 species of sharks. And, as well as being an iconic and crucial apex Ocean predator, these sharks also earn their keep. Every year, shark divers attracted to the Maldives bring over $65 million to the local economy, and skipjack tuna fishermen on the islands have reported that healthier shark populations help their fishery by making it easier for them to locate tuna out at sea. By confirming their commitment to shark conservation, the Maldives has reasserted its position as a world leader in marine protection – and the positive outcome shows that it is always worthwhile to #RiseUp4TheOcean and campaign to #SaveOurSharks!
Seaspiracy engages and enrages
Hands up who’s seen Seaspiracy? The controversial new documentary has certainly got people talking about the Ocean. But, while it’s always exciting to see the Ocean crisis hit the headlines, and great that Seaspiracy is raising awareness of threats beyond plastics, the notion that stopping eating fish will solve these problems is not the full story – and completely unrealistic for millions of people in coastal and island communities. Watching Seaspiracy should really turn people against destructive industrial fishing. Along with media buzz, Seaspiracy sparked heated accusations of misrepresentation from some scientists and organizations appearing in the film, as well as multiple reality checks trying to divide fact from fiction. The Navigator recommends that people watch the film for themselves to decide whether it’s a call to action or a vehicle for misinformation – or both.
Congratulations! President Biden has appointed OU Network Member Dr Jane Lubchenco as the chief White House scientist on climate change, operating at the intersection of climate policy, climate science, and the President’s climate and clean energy programs in federal agencies.
Recordings of the 22nd-25th March Our Fish Symposium on ‘Delivering on climate and biodiversity targets through better fisheries management’ are available in English, German, French and Spanish, and all presentations can be found at climateocean.com, along with Q&As.
Drop the S! Read more about this change and the Ocean literacy movement here.
The 2021 Conservation Action Focus will support the growing movement to protect 30% of our blue planet by 2030 for a healthy Ocean and climate. Learn how to take action here.
Spread the word! Applications for the EarthEcho Youth Leadership Council are now open to young people aged 15-22 from the US. The YLC campaigns to mobilize young people worldwide, including with OceanEcho 30x30. Deadline for applications is 3 May, so don’t delay!
Get ready for World Ocean Day, the G7 and more!
There’s a trio of Ocean events to watch out for and engage with in the coming weeks. First up on 18th-21st May, everyone is invited to dive into the Ocean Visions 2021 Summit “Towards a Global Ecosystem for Ocean Solutions”, a free event being held virtually at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to bring together a multi-sector community to develop roadmaps for solving great Ocean challenges. Next up is World Ocean Day on 8th June, which this year focuses on “The Ocean: Life & Livelihoods” and supports the 30x30 goal to shed light on the wonder of the Ocean as a life source that supports humanity and every other organism on Earth. And on 11th-13th June all eyes will be on Carbis Bay in Cornwall as the UK hosts the G7 Summit, asking leaders to seize the opportunity to build back better from COVID-19 by uniting to make the future fairer, greener and more prosperous. One of the key issues on the G7 agenda is tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity – impossible without protecting our Ocean.
IOG Forum issues recommendations – now EU must deliver action
The 3rd International Ocean Governance Forum (IOG Forum) on 20th April brought together Ocean actors and stakeholders from within and beyond Europe to share their insights, experiences, and good practices on Ocean governance and help develop the EU’s IOG Agenda. The Recommendations stemming from the Forum are designed to enhance EU Ocean action and set the course for a sustainable blue planet. Among the recommended actions are, to support the target of protecting at least 30% of the Ocean by 2030, to back the adoption of new MPA proposals in the Southern Ocean by CCAMLR, and to “build a coalition of like-minded high ambition States” to support provisions for designating MPAs in the High Seas “BBNJ” Treaty. Sounds good to us, but – as former Deputy PM of Sweden, Isabella Lovin, warns – the EU needs to raise its ambitions and prove they are serious about securing a strong, equitable High Seas Treaty in the critical final stages of the negotiations in 2021.
Triple whammy Ocean benefits support 30x30 goal
Protecting our Ocean will help ‘to solve the challenges of the century’ by yielding ‘triple benefits’ to safeguard the climate, support biodiversity, and boost fisheries, according to a new study. The team of international scientists have developed a global map that pinpoints priority places for action to maximize benefits, and not only support the target to strongly protect at least 30% of the Ocean by 2030, but provide planning tools to help achieve it. They argue that a globally coordinated effort could be nearly twice as efficient as disjointed, national-level actions. By establishing a carefully planned global network of MPAs in the right places, we can yield triple benefits for the planet, allowing biodiversity to thrive, while increasing fish yields and maximizing the Ocean’s ability to sequester carbon in seafloor sediment. One urgent action needed to achieve this is to stop the bottom trawling that this study reveals pumps out as much carbon every year as the entire aviation industry. And, key to accelerating and coordinating this expansion of Ocean protection, is to make 30x30 an official global target at CBD COP15 in Kunming in October.
Building bridges over troubled waters – division and revision ahead of COP15
To pave the way towards reaching a global consensus on a post-2020 framework for global biodiversity governance at the delayed COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, an informal online meeting was convened between 8th-14th March. But discussions between the over 2,000 participants, representing the 130 parties, civil society, and NGOs, revealed many diverging opinions that will need to be bridged to reach a consensus before the main event in Kunming, China, in mid-October. Fundamental differences were evident on resource mobilization targets, as well as on modalities for reporting, review of implementation, and capacity development. And, while the majority of participants called for raising the level of ambition to address serious threats to biodiversity, others insist “it is not ambition that is lacking, but rather adequate means of implementation.” Other delegates pointed to the need for compromises and suggested aiming for a “package deal”.
Speaking of persisting differences, the Chair of the fisheries subsidies talks at WTO reported after their 12th-16th April cluster of negotiations that, “reaching an outcome this summer means that we will need higher-level, capital-based decision-making soon.” He identifies three key sticking points requiring this top-level intervention: exemptions for subsidies to subsistence, artisanal, or small-scale fishing; due process requirements for IUU fishing determinations; and the approach to overcapacity and overfishing prohibition. These latest talks began with WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urging the heads of WTO delegations to stay engaged in the negotiations and work to reach an agreement by July. That leaves just 3 months – after more than 2 decades of deliberations – for states to finally net the deal and honor the SDG 14.6 commitment. Time to wheel in the big guns and get it done.
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