NGO’S RESPONSES TO G7 ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS’ COMMUNIQUÉ

NGO’s responses to G7 Environment Ministers’ communiqué. Environment Ministers from G7 nations have concluded their meeting ahead of the full Summit next month. A communique issued by the Ministers indicates the areas for consideration by Leaders.

These are the responses to the communiqué from High Seas Alliance / Deep Sea Conservation Coalition/ ONE OCEAN / International Programme for the State of the Ocean / Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition

HIGH SEAS ALLIANCE

G7 Ministers have recognised the importance of achieving an ambitious High Seas Treaty that will bring much needed protection to half our planet. After decades of deliberations, world leaders must now bring the political will needed to bring this historic new Treaty over the finish line, and ensure that is in the best interests of the ocean and all humankind. We are looking to the G7 Leaders to listen to the ocean, and confirm this commitment at the Summit to deliver a treaty that will finally provide effective protection for the blue heart of our planet as soon as possible.

DEEP SEA CONSERVATION COALITION

Environment Ministers from G7 nations have highlighted the importance of protecting the whole ocean including the 95% that is the deep sea, not least in respect to its role in climate mitigation. We hope that the G7 leaders will carry this forward as an outcome of their Summit and specifically commit to protect the deep ocean from harmful practices such as deep-sea mining and deep-sea bottom trawling. We have to listen to the ocean and better integrate it into decision making across the board. Nature is also blue.

ONE OCEAN

Ocean organisations from around the world called on G7 Ministers to put the ocean at the heart of the Summit for its crucial role in tackling the climate crisis. The ocean must be integrated into climate action but this agenda fails to achieve that; it is all too easy to forget that the nature we need to protect is also blue. We look to G7 Leaders to do better and stand up for the ocean and make it a priority in their communique and plans to protect both biodiversity and the climate. No ocean, no planet – its time to listen to the ocean.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR THE STATE OF THE OCEAN

The Environment Agenda remains light on the important detail that will tell us if the G7 are going to listen to science and the ocean. G7 Leaders will not solve the climate crisis if they do not protect the ocean and fully integrate that protection into all decision making. If we learned anything in the pandemic it’s that we have lost balance with all nature and that we should pay attention to our scientists.

ANTARCTIC AND SOUTHERN OCEAN COALITION

Environment Ministers from G7 have highlighted the need to fully support the commitment by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to develop a representative system of MPAs in the Convention Area, starting with the proposals to establish MPAs in East Antarctica, in the Weddell Sea and in the Antarctic Peninsula. We hope that G7 leaders will continue to champion this in the coming months and ensure these 3 large scale MPAs are adopted at CCAMLR in October 2021.