EU Statement – United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and Law of the Sea
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Co-Chairs,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
May I first join previous speakers in congratulating you on your appointment. We are pleased to continue working together with you on this important process, and we assure you of the full cooperation of the EU and its Member States in the fulfillment of your responsible task. We would also like to congratulate you on the excellent work that you have been doing and also take this opportunity to thank the previous Co-Chairs for their work.
We would also like to express our gratitude to DOALOS, acting as the Secretariat of the ICP, for their professional assistance.
The EU and its Member States welcome the launching, by the General Assembly, of the mandate of the ICP which should continue for the next 2 years, with a further review of its effectiveness and utility by the GA at its 73rd session. We also welcome the proposed focus on ‘the effects of climate change on oceans’ for this eighteenth meeting. Oceans play an important role in the climate regulation system by absorbing a significant part of the global greenhouse gas emissions. They are home to some extremely vulnerable ecosystems that also provide the basis for the livelihoods of numerous coastal communities.
The EU and its Member States are fully supportive of furthering the understanding of the important relationship between climate and the ocean and the need to protect the ocean’s ability and the ecosystem’s resilience to adapt to climate change. We recognize that it is of utmost importance to understand the multiple impacts on the ocean including ocean warming, acidification, stratification, oxygen depletion, which come in addition to a large range of existing pressures such as overfishing and pollution. It is equally important to better understand the role of marine and coastal ecosystems in storing and sequestering carbon. This calls for targeted research on the nexus between climate change and oceans, to communicate about scientific findings and also to understand and address how the management of mankind’s activities can be improved to mitigate these effects.
The EU and its Member States invest considerably in research on oceans and climate change and note with appreciation that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has integrated in its work plan of April 2016, the development of an ocean assessment. The EU and its Member States look forward to the IPCC’s Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere.
In the same vein, the EU and its Member States adopted on 3rd April 2017, Council Conclusions on ‘International Ocean Governance: an agenda for the future of our Oceans’, covering a number of actions for safe, secure, clean and sustainably managed oceans in Europe and around the world, including:
- Using development policies to promote and build capacity for better ocean governance;
- Supporting the development of alliances aimed at addressing the role of oceans in the Global Climate Action Agenda and in the implementation of the Paris Agreement;
- Achieving the global target of conserving 10% of marine and coastal areas and promoting the effective management of MPAs;
- Contributing to the effectiveness and expansion of marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide;
- Strengthening marine and maritime research and innovation activities under EU Research Programmes.
Through its research programme Horizon 2020, the COPERNICUS service, and its contribution to the international GEO initiative (Group on Earth Observation), the EU is collecting data on oceans and contributing to improving ocean observations that are relevant to monitor and forecast climate change and its impact, notably the effects of climate change on the oceans and its resources, resilience to climate change and on understanding past climates. One major contribution made through the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme to climate related ocean observations is through the ATLANTOS project for which the EU has invested more than 20 M€.
In the context of implementation of the EU MSFD (Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC)),, the monitoring programmes of the EU Member States will help us to develop a more detailed understanding of the condition of the marine environment, how human activities impact on it and its response to these changes. Marine acidification is one of the identified chemical features which should be taken into account in guiding progress towards achieving good environmental status in the marine environment.
Sulphur is linked to acidification and hence a reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions should reduce the rate of acidification. The EU Maritime Transport Ministers, who met in Malta in March 2017, welcomed in the Valletta Declaration, the progress made at IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 70 with, the setting of 1st of January 2020 as entry-into-force date of the 0,5% global sulphur cap for marine fuel, which should significantly reduce the amount of sulphur which gets into the ocean and seas from 2020 onwards.
The Paris Agreement recognises the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including the oceans. In this context, the Marrakesh Partnership For Global Climate Action is instrumental in identifying the protection of the ocean and marine biodiversity as one of the key challenges for climate change policies and actions on the international agenda. The “Ocean and Climate Initiatives Alliance” will consolidate and coordinate the concrete actions initiated in this area by individual partnerships.
Co-Chairs,
The EU and its Member States fully support projects specifically dedicated to address the interlinkages among climate change, oceans protection, renewable energy and food security while ensuring full involvement of local communities. We think that it is important that new initiatives build upon and do not duplicate existing initiatives and work. We are confident that through cooperation we can understand better the effects of climate change and try to protect ecosystems to be better equipped with enhanced resilience to such effects whilst at the same time trying to lessen as much as possible any anthropogenic effects which would increase climate change.
We look forward to fruitful discussions this week which should help us better comprehend the complex challenges presented by the impacts of climate change on the oceans as well as possible adaptation and mitigation measures.
Thank you.