Nearly 20 billion dollars (about 18.8 billion euros) in funds dedicated to the protection of the oceans were pledged on Friday March 3 at the global conference Our Ocean in Panama, announced the host country, after the closing of the meeting.
That total includes a $6 billion pledge from the United States, announced Thursday by White House climate envoy John Kerry. “We are undertaking many different initiatives to have the greatest impact possible,” Kerry told foreign press correspondents in Panama on Friday.
“The reason for the increase is that we passed the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, which put a lot of money into fighting the climate crisis, and the result is that we have a higher great ability to undertake initiatives that will have a climate impact,” he explained.
Five billion dedicated to the fight against climate change
The statement from the US Embassy in Panama does not specify the period during which these disbursements will be made, but points out that the amount is “more than double” what the United States promised at the Our ocean of 2022.
Nearly 5 billion dollars of this American envelope will be earmarked to combat climate change, of which a little more than half will be used to “develop the resilience of marine resources and coastal communities” affected, the American embassy said in a press release. Panama.
The United States will also spend $665 million to promote sustainable fishing, $200 million to combat pollution, $73 million for “blue economy” programs (the marine equivalent of the green economy) and $11 million to marine protected areas.
“Voluntary pledges” but no deal
For its part, the European Union (EU) has announced that it is committing this year to the tune of 816.5 million euros for projects to protect the seas. Of this envelope, 320 million euros will be devoted to research on marine biodiversity and to counter the impact of climate change on maritime environments, while 250 million euros will go to the Sentinel-1C satellite program for monitoring effects of climate change and in particular the melting of Arctic ice.
Participants in the Our Ocean conference announce voluntary “pledges” but do not vote or adopt an agreement. Some 600 delegates from governments, companies and NGOs had gathered since Thursday morning in Panama to discuss the framework to be given to the “blue economy” for the sustainable exploitation and protection of the seas and oceans.
In a pre-summit meeting, representatives from the EU, the United States, Latin America and the Pacific Islands called on the New York negotiators of the High Seas Treaty, which has been under discussion for more than 15 years at the United Nations, to be achieved as soon as possible.