A global oceans summit on Friday wrapped up with world leaders taking major steps toward marine protection and vowing a showdown when nations meet to negotiate rules for deep-sea mining next month.
However, as a cacophony of ship foghorns sounded the close of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, a lack of funding pledges and the total omission of fossil fuels disappointed some observers.
The summit was just the third — and largest yet — dedicated entirely to what the UN calls an “emergency” in the world’s oceans.
Photo: Reuters
More than 60 heads of state and government joined thousands of business leaders, scientists and environmental campaigners over five days in the southern city of Nice.
There was unanimous praise for efforts to ratify the high seas treaty designed to protect marine life in the 60 percent of oceans that lie beyond national waters.
About 19 countries formally ratified the pact at Nice, taking the overall tally to 50 — but 60 nations are needed to bring the treaty into force.
France’s oceans envoy, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, said the numbers would be reached by September and the treaty should take effect by January next year.
High Seas Alliance director Rebecca Hubbard welcomed the “incredible progress” but urged “all remaining nations to ratify without delay.”
The summit sought collective action on oceans even as countries brace for tough talks over deep-sea mining next month and a plastic pollution treaty in August.
More than 90 ministers called in Nice for the treaty to enshrine limits on plastic production — something fiercely opposed by oil-producing nations.
The summit also rallied behind a defense of science and rules-based oversight of common resources — most notably the unknown depths of the oceans — in a direct rebuke of US President Donald Trump.
Trump was not present in Nice and rarely mentioned by name, but his shadow loomed as leaders thundered against his unilateral push to mine the ocean floor for nickel and minerals.
France and like-minded countries vowed to block any effort to permit deep-sea exploration at negotiations over a mining code at the International Seabed Authority next month, Poivre d’Arvor said.
“Nobody knows what is there in the deep sea... You cannot launch recklessly down this path,” he said in a closing address.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged caution, warning against turning the deep sea into “the wild west.”
Leaders “made it unmistakably clear: Deep-sea mining is one of the biggest threats facing our ocean, and the world is saying no,” Deep Sea Conservation Coalition campaign director Sofia Tsenikli said.
However, for all the rhetoric, a global alliance opposed to deep-sea mining only attracted four new members at Nice, rising to 37 nations.
Greece, Samoa and Colombia were among 14 nations who unveiled plans for vast new marine protected areas, taking the share of the world’s oceans under conservation to more than 10 percent.
Some also announced restrictions on bottom trawling, a destructive fishing method captured in grisly detail in a new David Attenborough documentary.
Activists had pushed for a total ban on this kind of trawling, which uses heavy weighted nets dragged across the ocean floor.
Developing nations hoping their larger and wealthier counterparts would open the checkbook in Nice were disappointed.
Small island nations in particular have long complained they lack the finances required to build seawalls against rising tides and protect their waters from illegal fishers.
While private donors pledged around 8.7 billion euros (US$10.05 billion) over the next five years, the UN says US$175 billion a year is needed for sustainable ocean development.
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
INFLUTENTIAL THEORIST: Habermas was particularly critical of the ‘limited interest’ shown by German politicians in ‘shaping a politically effective Europe Jurgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96. Habermas’ publisher, Suhrkamp, said he died on Saturday in Starnberg, near Munich. Habermas frequently weighed in on political matters over several decades. His extensive writing crossed the boundaries of academic and philosophical disciplines, providing a vision of modern society and social interaction. His best-known works included the two-volume Theory of Communicative Action. Habermas, who was 15 at the time of Nazi Germany’s defeat, later recalled the dawn of
The Chinese public maintains relatively warm sentiments toward Taiwan and strongly prefers non-military paths to improving cross-strait relations, a recent survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University showed. The “China Pulse” research project, which polled 2,506 adults between Oct. 27 last year and Jan. 1 this year, found that 86 percent of respondents support strengthening cultural ties, while 81 percent favor deepening economic interaction. The report, co-authored by political scientists at Emory University and advisors at the Carter Center, indicates that the Chinese public views Taiwan’s importance through a lens of shared history and culture rather than geopolitical
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
RSS