European Union Takes Steps Towards a Sustainable ‘Blue Economy’ and Ocean Conservation

At the “Our Ocean” conference held in Athens, the European Union announced initiatives to protect the world’s oceans and promote sustainability. European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, reiterated the importance of the ocean, stating that it is an integral part of our identity and our responsibility. The EU has pledged €3.5 billion for initiatives this year to support sustainable fisheries and combat marine pollution.

The initiatives include supporting 14 investments and one reform in sustainable fisheries in Cyprus, Greece, Poland, and Portugal, totaling about €1.9 billion. Additionally, €980 million from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility will be used in Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy, and Spain to support four investments and two reforms aimed at combating marine pollution. The objective of the conference is to promote the “blue economy,” which involves the sustainable use of ocean resources to benefit economies, livelihoods, and ocean ecosystem health.

Greece strongly supports the concept of a blue economy due to its geographical location and extensive coastline. With thousands of islands and the longest Mediterranean coastline in Europe, Greece plans to present its national strategy on marine biodiversity protection at the conference. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that ocean temperatures hit a record high in February 2020, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts. Overfishing and plastic pollution are also significant threats to our oceans; research suggests that if no action is taken by 2040 plastics could triple in number in our oceans.