Contact us T +32 (0)2 626 07 20 | info@europeangreens.eu

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Flickr

Donate

  • Login to your account
  • User account
  • About Us
    • Organisation
    • People
    • Networks and Working Groups
    • Guidelines
  • Our Positions
    • Positions
    • Resolutions
    • Policy Papers
    • Manifesto
  • Member Parties
  • News
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • Brand Assets
    • Communications Team
  • Events
Home
  • About Us
  • Our Positions
  • Member Parties
  • News
  • Events

World Oceans Day / Meet the Green politician leading the way for healthier and more sustainable oceans

Share
Share on FacebookShare on Twittershare on Linked Inshare on Google Plusshare via email

Isabella Lövin on World Oceans Day

On World Oceans Day we caught up with Isabella Lövin, a Green politician from Sweden who serves as both the deputy prime minister and minister of international development cooperation and climate.

She’s at the UN headquarters in New York to attend the biggest conference in history dedicated to the condition of the world’s oceans.

The historic event, co-hosted by Sweden and the republic of Fiji, will see the world come together from 5 – 9 June to reverse the decline in the health of our oceans due to stresses like climate change, plastic litter, over-fishing and pollution.

Because the oceans can’t wait any longer, Isabella said that this event will be a “game changer.” She also made clear that under her leadership Sweden would renew its commitments to both the Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement. 

Sweden’s priorities at the conference are to:

  • Reduce marine debris with a focus on plastic in the oceans.
  • Create a sustainable blue economy with a focus on overfishing.
  • Mitigate the affects that climate change have on the oceans.
  • Create new partnerships and initiatives with governments and intergovernmental organisations, and raise public awareness and engagement.

To mark the occasion, the Swedish Green Party – Miljöpartiet de gröna – compiled a list of facts about the oceans and why they need to be protected: 

1. 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year. This is equivalent to more than a truck every minute. Littering our nature and oceans is one of the biggest environmental problems of our time.

2. It takes up to 450 years for a PET-bottle to decompose in nature. The problem with plastic that is thrown into the ocean is that it decomposes at an excruciatingly slow rate and therefore remains in nature for hundreds of years. 

3. Approximately 80% of ocean waste originates on land.

4. You can find plastic waste in any ocean of the world. In about 30 years there might be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

5. The percentage of fish that is overfished, depleted or recovering from overfishing has increased from 60% to almost 90%. In the mid-seventies it stood at 60%, in 2005 it was 75%, and almost 90% in 2013.

6. It is the world’s poorest countries that are the ones most affected by the climate changes that affect the oceans. There, many people depend on fishing for survival.

7. Fish constitutes 20% of animal sourced protein for around 3 billion people. It is thus an important source of protein for many people in the world.

8. Both overfishing and poaching increase injustice and poverty in the world. Poaching is strongly linked to other criminal acts such as slavery and human trafficking.

9.The cost of maladministration of global fishing ads up to 83 billion US dollars per year in default revenue. Sustainable fishing (when fish stocks have the time to recover and adapt to their new conditions) would increase financial profitability and feed more people. 

10. Since the 1970’s the ocean has protected us from the worst consequences of climate change. The ocean has absorbed more than 93% of the heat that humans have contributed to the earth since the 1970’s through the greenhouse effect and other activities. We do not know, however, how long the ocean can continue to do this.

11. Climate change has caused ocean acidification. Since the industrial revolution the acidification of the oceans has increased by nearly 30%.

12. The sea is home to almost a million different species. If there is no radical decrease of the amount of carbon dioxide that we produce, the ocean acidification will disturb the growth of the world’s coral reefs.

Environment & Food
Climate & Energy

Recent News

Icon:
Title:

Webinar: The European Climate Law - Why it matters and what's next

Post date:
19 November 2020
Body:

Hosted by the EGP’s Committee Member Oras Tynkkynen, and featuring Terhi Lehtonen, State Secretary of the Finnish Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, as well as MEP Micha Bloss of the Greens/EFA Group, we discussed the European Climate Law in more detail.

Icon:
Title:

Run for Europe with the European Greens

Post date:
07 October 2020
Body:

From October 16 to 18, the European Green Party is joining forces with NGOs and other pro-European parties for the first ever virtual Run for Europe!

Position:
Europe & Democracy
Icon:
Title:

‘Coronavirus Recovery: Let's build a better tomorrow!’ in a nutshell

Post date:
16 June 2020
Body:

A Green recovery to the coronavirus crisis will build a better tomorrow! Check out the summary of the "Coronavirus Recovery" resolution adopted by our member parties last weekend.

More News

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Flickr
Tweet Contents:

🔥 2020 was the joint hottest year ever recorded.

🌡 We are headed for a catastrophic temperature rise of 3-5°C this century. Everyone, everywhere must treat this like the #ClimateCrisis it is.

🌍 We need to take action NOW! https://t.co/V0iFBcvfmZ

Tweet Author:
europeangreens
Creation Date:
4 hours ago
Tweet Contents:

RT @jesseklaver: Het kabinet treedt af. Het enige juiste besluit.

Laat dit tegelijkertijd een nieuw begin zijn. Een keerpunt. Het moment w…

Tweet Author:
europeangreens
Creation Date:
5 hours ago
Tweet Contents:

RT @GreensEFA: #COVID19 will only be defeated when a large part of the world’s population is vaccinated. #CovidVaccine should be declared a…

Tweet Author:
europeangreens
Creation Date:
5 hours ago

Sign up to our newsletter

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Fill in the blank.

Change Europe, donate Green

Chip in today to help us build a Greener Europe!

Donate

  • Organisation
    • About
    • History
    • Councils
    • Congresses
    • Finance Advisory Board
    • Amendments Committee
    • Conciliation Panel
  • People
    • Committee
    • Team
    • Vacancies
    • Traineeships
  • Networks and Working Groups
    • Networks
      • Balkan
      • Gender
      • tilt!
      • Queer
      • Local Councillors
      • Seniors
    • Working Groups
      • Foreign and Security Policy
      • Future of Europe
      • Trade
  • Guidelines
    • Charter
    • Statutes
    • Rulebook
    • Finances
    • Privacy Policy
  • Our Positions
    • Positions
    • Resolutions
    • Policy Papers
    • Manifesto
  • Member Parties
  • News
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • Brand Assets
    • Communications Team
  • Events
  • Campaigns
    • tilt!
    • 2019 EU election campaign
  • Donate
Home

Rue Wiertz 31

B-1050 Brussels, Belgium

T +32 (0) 2 626 07 20

info@europeangreens.eu

© European Greens - With the financial support of the European Parliament. Sole liability remains with the author.

cookies