European Union’s Involvement at UN Ocean Conference
On Monday 5 June 2017, the United Nations opened the Ocean Conference, a high-level event to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14): Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The European Union was represented by the Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella.
Co-hosted by Sweden and Fiji, this is the first conference dedicated to the implementation of an individual SDG. The three main deliverables of the Conference will be a political declaration, the 'Call for Action'; a report on the partnership dialogues (interactive and multi-stakeholders sessions aimed at providing recommendations to implement SDG14); and voluntary commitments. The EU has actively participated in the preparatory process leading to the Conference and has registered 19 ambitious voluntary commitments – ranging from preventing and reducing marine litter through a dedicated plastics strategy, to satellite observation to monitor the conditions of the oceans, to development aid to step up the fight against illegal fishing and promote better ocean governance. These commitments testify to the fact that the EU is a strong supporter of Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and is fully committed to the achievement of SDG14. Further to and building on this, the EU will take its ambitious oceans agenda forward, hosting the fourth #OurOcean conference in Malta on 5 and 6 October.
