Representatives from more than 100 countries have committed to measures aimed at preserving the ocean from human harm, including stepping up the fight against illegal fishing, cutting plastic pollution and better protecting international waters. They’re one and the same.”The 27 EU states and 16 others agreed to pursue a global agreement by the end of the year to regulate the sustainable use of the high seas – waters lying outside any one country’s jurisdiction – and preserve their biodiversity. “We are so close, but we need to push [to get the treaty signed in 2022],” the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, told the summit. The hope is for a fourth and final round of UN negotiations to reach agreement in New York in March. Peggy Kalas, of the High Seas Alliance, said the announcement was “a timely and important commitment to protect our global commons”.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2022 09:22 UTC