The environmental organization said in a statement today that by March 3, world leaders will meet at the United Nations headquarters in New York to approve protecting 30 percent of the oceans by 2030.
“We are in the middle of negotiations and some issues that were already closed in the previous round of negotiations in August have been resumed. It is important that delegates (…) underscore the urgency of accelerating the debate and achieving a strong global ocean treaty,” he stated.
Otherwise we run the risk of not reaching 30 percent by 2030, explained Celia Ojeda, head of biodiversity at Greenpeace.
He added that the organization is asking Teresa Ribera (third vice president and minister for Spain’s ecological transition and demographic challenge) to make next week’s UN negotiations its top priority.
In all the cities mobilized this weekend, Greenpeace volunteers will update citizens on the historic moment we are living in before the negotiations of the Global Accord and collect signatures, adding to the 5.5 million already received.
The cities where these activities take place are A Coruña, Asturias, Alicante, Almería, Barcelona, Bizkaia, Córdoba, Girona, Gran Canaria, Guipúzcoa, La Rioja, León, Lleida, Madrid, Málaga, Navarre, Pontevedra , Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tenerife, Valencia, Valladolid and Tarragona.
Greenpeace argued that the oceans were being overfished by large industrial fishing fleets. The gas, oil and marine mining industries continue to drill deep, impacting marine whales.
Add to that the continued degradation of coastal waters from pollution and climate change, which are accelerating acidification and threatening their operation, he stressed.
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