The G7 Ministers of Climate, Energy and the Environment, met on 26–27 May 2022 in Berlin to address the multiple crises that are endangering our climate and environment and causing severe impacts on the planet, lives and livelihoods, and the next generations’ needs around the world.
During the meeting, the G7 Ministers expressed their commitment to show global leadership and take urgent concrete action to tackle the decline of ocean health under the pillars of i)Joint Action: Advancing the Climate, Energy and Environment Agenda Together and ii) Environment: Protection, Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of the Ocean. The Ministers agreed to increase international and national efforts on a number of urgent topics including combating marine pollution, ending Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, supporting Marine Protected Areas, and other effective area-based conservations measures.
“It is with utmost concern that we recognise the accelerating effects of climate change on the ocean, including six consecutive years of record-breaking ocean temperatures, as well as increasing ocean acidification, pollution and biodiversity loss. We recognise that our efforts fall short of the global commitments on ocean protection and conservation under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with SDG14 and relevant UNEA resolutions, as well as relevant commitments under the CBD and consistent with international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” – G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers’ Communiqué, May2022
The G7 Ocean Deal
The G7 Ministers emphasised the urgent need for enhanced ocean governance, scientific cooperation and bold ocean action within the G7 and beyond and contribute to it through the G7 Ocean Deal. Focusing on facilitating international ocean governance and delivering on concrete ocean action within the G7 and beyond, the G7 Ocean Deal also reaffirms the G7’s commitment to supporting the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) to address the challenge of strengthening and sustaining ocean observations through the coordinated actions during the Ocean Decade and beyond.
“We reaffirm our commitment to supporting the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Ocean Decade) and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. We highlight our commitment to engage through the G7 Ocean Decade Navigation Plan as a framework for G7 collaboration and to advance the collective work on ocean science, ocean observation, assessment of ocean status and ocean action throughout this critical decade. We also reaffirm our commitment to the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) to address the challenge of strengthening and sustaining ocean observations through the coordinated actions during the Ocean Decade and beyond. Building on G7 Leaders’ commitment under the G7 2030 Nature Compact to further our sustainable relationship with the ocean, we will also continue to advance our knowledge of the ocean-climate nexus” – G7 Ocean Deal, May 2022