EU pledges 3.5 bln euros to protect the ocean

The European Union will spend 3.5 billion euros ($3.71 billion) to protect the ocean and promote sustainability through a series of initiatives this year, the EU's top environment official said on Tuesday. The EU's 40 commitments, announced during the annual "Our Ocean" conference held in Athens this week, range from fighting marine pollution to supporting sustainable fisheries and investments in the so-called blue economy - sustainable use of marine and freshwater resources for economic activity.

The European Union will spend 3.5 billion euros ($3.71 billion) to protect the ocean and promote sustainability through a series of initiatives this year, the EU's top environment official said on Tuesday.

The EU's 40 commitments, announced during the annual "Our Ocean" conference held in Athens this week, range from fighting marine pollution to supporting sustainable fisheries and investments in the so-called blue economy - sustainable use of marine and freshwater resources for economic activity. "The ocean is part of who we are, and it is our shared responsibility," said EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month that ocean temperatures hit a record high in February, according to data that goes back to 1979. Overfishing and plastic pollution are also major threats to oceans. The biggest part of the EU funds will be used to support 14 investments and one reform in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Spain. Other EU initiatives are directed to helping African countries develop their blue economy.

In total, more than 400 new commitments amounting to $10 billion will be announced during the conference, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. Greece will spend 780 million euros on 21 commitments which include an ban on bottom trawling in all of the country's marine protected areas, he added.

The country also pledged to create two more marine parks, one in the Aegean Sea for the protection of seabirds and one in the Ionian Sea for the protection of sea mammals, which will cover more than 4,000 square kilometers of areas protected under the EU's Natura 2000 network of sites. "Mitigation and adaptation are not enough. We must also focus on protection and restoration to insulate land and seas from harmful human activity and to give space to nature to heal," said Mitsotakis.

The marine park in the Aegean Sea has irritated neighbouring Turkey, which said last week that it was not willing to accept a possible "fait accompli on geographical features whose status is disputed". In response, Greece accused Turkey of "politicising a purely environmental issue". Environmental groups have also urged Greece to halt its gas exploration plans in the Ionian Sea.

The "Our Ocean" conference has mobilised more than 2,160 commitments worth approximately $130 billion since its launch in 2014. ($1 = 0.9430 euros)

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