{"id":5844,"date":"2021-11-28T18:22:04","date_gmt":"2021-11-28T18:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euromenaenergy.com\/?p=5844"},"modified":"2021-11-28T18:22:04","modified_gmt":"2021-11-28T18:22:04","slug":"reeling-in-a-deal-to-save-the-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/?p=5844","title":{"rendered":"Reeling in a deal to save the ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Helen Clark, Arancha Gonz?Lez, Susana Malcorra, And James Michel Auckland\/Madrid\/Victoria\/Anse Royale<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet\u2019s surface, produces half of the oxygen we breathe, feeds billions of people, and provides hundreds of millions of jobs. It also plays a major role in mitigating climate change: over 80% of the global carbon cycle passes through the ocean. But this precious natural resource is not invincible. Despite all the benefits it affords us, the ocean today faces unprecedented man-made crises that threaten its health and its ability to sustain life on Earth.
\nThe greatest threat to marine biodiversity is overfishing. More than one-third of global fish stocks are overfished and a further 60% are fully fished. Each year, governments around the world encourage overfishing by providing $22bn in harmful fisheries subsidies. Although these subsidies are designed to help support coastal communities, they instead prop up unsustainable and unprofitable fishing activity, depleting the very resource on which local populations\u2019 livelihoods depend.
\nThis problem is not new. In fact, the World Trade Organisation\u2019s members have been trying to negotiate a deal to curb these damaging payments since 2001. World leaders reiterated their commitment to tackling the issue when they agreed in 2015 to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under SDG 14, which aims to put a healthy ocean at the heart of the global sustainable-development agenda, leaders promised by 2020 to reach an agreement at the WTO that would reduce fisheries subsidies. But they missed the deadline, as negotiations slowed during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
\nResearch shows that if WTO members were to eliminate all harmful fisheries subsidies \u2013 the most ambitious scenario \u2013 global fish biomass could increase by 12.5% by 2050. That\u2019s an additional 35mn metric tonnes of fish, or more than four times North America\u2019s annual fish consumption in 2017. And this is a conservative estimate. Removing destructive subsidies really will mean more fish in the sea.
\nThe aim is not to remove support from fishing communities, but rather to redirect it in a more meaningful and less damaging way. Even if a deal does not eliminate all harmful subsidies, it would create a global framework of accountability and transparency for subsidy programmes. That, in turn, would spur dialogue between governments, fishing communities, and other stakeholders to spur the development of redesigned policies that better support fisherfolk while protecting our global commons.
\nMoreover, an agreement is within reach \u2013 if the political will is there to deliver it. The most recent lapse of the negotiations resulted from differences over how to structure flexibility in subsidy regimes for developing countries, as well as how to define and enforce rules on illegal fishing and sustainable stocks. But after numerous proposals and discussions, the comprehensive draft now on the table combines measures to curb harmful subsidies with specific exceptions for developing countries.
\nWith the start of the WTO\u2019s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva just days away, now is the moment for a deal. Failure to conclude one would not only harm the ocean and the livelihoods of those who depend upon it, but also would diminish the global rules-based system and damage the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In contrast, ending harmful fisheries subsidies would reduce the cumulative pressures on the ocean and increase its resilience in the face of climate change.
\nIn the wake of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, governments must demonstrate their willingness to use every tool at their disposal to tackle the climate crisis. The stakes at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference have perhaps never been higher. The future of multilateral trade co-operation is at risk; but, above all, jobs, food security, and the health of our global commons are on the line.
\nThat is why 33 former government leaders and ministers from around the world have joined forces with nearly 400 scientists in urging WTO members to \u201charness their political mandate to protect the health of the ocean and the well-being of society.\u201d
\nGovernments have given their word that they will curb destructive fisheries subsidies. Next week\u2019s meeting in Geneva will test the credibility of that pledge.
\nThis commentary is also signed by: Axel Addy \u2013 Minister of Commerce and Industry of Liberia (2013-18); Mercedes Araoz \u2013 Prime Minister of Peru (2017-18) and Vice-President of Peru (2016-2020); Hakim Ben Hammouda \u2013 Minister of Economy and Finance of Tunisia (2014-15); Herminio Blanco \u2013 Minister for Trade and Industry of Mexico (1994-2000); Maria Damanaki \u2013 European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (2010-14); Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle \u2013 President of Chile (1994-2000); Michael Froman \u2013 US Trade Representative (2013-17); Tim Groser \u2013 Minister of Trade of New Zealand (2008-2015); Enrique V Iglesias \u2013 President of the Inter-American Development Bank (1988-2005); Hilda Heine \u2013 President of the Marshall Islands (2016-2020); Ban Ki-moon \u2013 UN Secretary-General (2007-2016); Ricardo Lagos \u2013 President of Chile (2000-06); Pascal Lamy \u2013 Director-General of the WTO (2005-2013); Roberto Lavagna \u2013 Minister of Economy of Argentina (2002-05); Cecilia Malmstrom \u2013 European Commissioner for Trade (2014-19); Peter Mandelson \u2013 European Commissioner for Trade (2004-08); Sergio Marchi \u2013 Minister of International Trade of Canada (1997); Heraldo Munoz \u2013 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile (2014-18); Pierre Pettigrew \u2013 Minister for International Trade of Canada (1999-2003), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada (2004-06), Tommy Remengesau, Jr. \u2013 President of the Republic of Palau (2001-09, 2013-2021); Jose Luis Rodr\u00edguez Zapatero \u2013 Prime Minister of Spain (2004-2011); Jos\u00e9 Manuel Salazar \u2013 Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (1997-98); Susan Schwab \u2013 US Trade Representative (2006-09); Juan Somavia \u2013 Director-General of International Labour Organisation (1999-2012); Alberto Trejos \u2013 Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (2002-04); Allan Wagner \u2013 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru (1985-88, 2002-03, 2021); Andres Velasco \u2013 Minister of Finance of Chile (2002-06); Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Le\u00f3n \u2013 President of Mexico (1994-2000); and Robert Zoellick \u2013 US Trade Representative (2001-05). \u2013 Project Syndicate<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Helen Clark is a former prime minister of New Zealand (1999-2008). Arancha Gonz\u00e1lez is a former foreign minister of Spain (2020-21). Susana Malcorra is a former foreign minister of Argentina (2015-17). James Michel is a former president of the Republic of Seychelles (2004-2016).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Helen Clark, Arancha Gonz?Lez, Susana Malcorra, And James Michel Auckland\/Madrid\/Victoria\/Anse Royale The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet\u2019s surface, produces half of the oxygen we breathe, feeds billions of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[46,48,57,63,68,76,77,82,86,87,90,96,99,103,107,109,111,113,137,139,146,148,160,174,183,184,201,202,209,222,230,232,233,244,246,249,256,262,263,267,277,279,280,285,288],"class_list":["post-5844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blue-economy","category-clean-energy","tag-aramco","tag-athens","tag-baroudi","tag-blue-economy","tag-carbon","tag-climate","tag-climate-change","tag-co2","tag-cyprus","tag-decarbonising","tag-democracy","tag-doha","tag-eastmed","tag-egypt","tag-embargo","tag-emissions","tag-energy","tag-energy-peace","tag-gas","tag-gazprom","tag-greece","tag-greenenergy","tag-international-maritime-disputes","tag-lebanon","tag-maritime-boundaries-east-mediterranean","tag-maritime-disputes","tag-offshore","tag-oil","tag-opec","tag-pollution","tag-poverty-alleviation","tag-putin","tag-qatar","tag-rosneft","tag-roudi","tag-russia","tag-saudi","tag-solar","tag-solar-power","tag-straddling-hydrocarbons-reserves","tag-total","tag-trump","tag-turkey","tag-unclos","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}