Distinguished guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to address you at this important event on the margins of COP25.
We are four years into the historic adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. And at the recent SDG Summit, we have started a new Decade of Action to deliver on the SDGs and their targets.
The transformative 2030 Agenda has galvanized actors across multiple sectors. It has forged promising partnerships towards the achievement of all SDGs, including SDG 14. Voluntary commitments – registered by Member States and other stakeholders – constituted one of the key outcomes of the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference. To date, there are 1,573 pledges, and the list is still growing.
To follow up on these voluntary commitments, the United Nations launched nine thematic multi-stakeholder Communities of Ocean Action (COAs), in November 2017. The importance of the COAs is underlined by the fact that we cannot accomplish the 2030 Agenda without multi-stakeholder partnerships.
In May this year, members of COAs and other stakeholders gathered in Incheon, Republic of Korea. They discussed challenges and shared successes in the implementation of voluntary commitments. We agreed that, although progress is being made, there are still gaps in coverage and implementation of these commitments. More private sector and scientific community stakeholders are needed to advance implementation of SDG 14 – especially in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean region.
In my capacity as a Co-focal point for the COA on Sustainable Blue Economy, I am pleased to note that good progress has been made in the implementation of voluntary commitments belonging to this COA. In fact, around 90 percent of the voluntary commitments that reported on their progress, were on-track with their activities, or already completed.
However, the coverage of existing voluntary commitments is uneven. For instance, certain sectors of sustainable blue economy – such as marine biotechnology and marine renewable energy – are lagging behind in receiving Voluntary Commitments (VCs). Moreover, there is need for scientific communities and the private sector to be part of the transition to a sustainable blue economy.
We need to intensify our efforts to fill the gaps and address the challenges COAs are facing, in stakeholder coordination and resource deficiencies. It is also important for voluntary commitment holders to regularly report on their activities. In this way, other members of COAs can learn from each other’s experience.
Dear participants,
The ocean and climate are deeply interlinked.
Our planet is facing daunting challenges that put the very existence of some countries and the planet itself, at risk. Sea-levels are set to rise in some countries – much higher than the global average. Half of all live, coral cover on coral reefs, has been lost in the past 150 years.
Plastic is expected to outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050 if no effective action is taken. The unsustainable levels of stress on marine and coastal ecosystems need to be addressed urgently.
Over the past few days, we have heard repeatedly that if global warming reaches two degrees Celsius or more, it will bring catastrophic damage to marine life and humans alike.
• We must mobilize all stakeholders of the COAs – including UN System entities – to address the intertwined challenges of climate change and ocean health.• We must align our actions with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda – and facilitate collaboration among different actors in support of SDGs 13 and 14 and their targets.• We must catalyze and generate new voluntary commitments to scale up ocean action and climate action – in all areas identified in the targets of SDG13, SDG14 and beyond.
Excellencies,
In about 6 months, the 2020 UN Ocean Conference will be convened in Lisbon, Portugal. Member States and other relevant stakeholders are invited to provide an update on the implementation of the voluntary commitments, and to support the sharing of experiences and lessons learned. It will certainly become another milestone for the implementation of SDG14 and its targets.
As the Secretary-General of the 2020 UN Ocean Conference, I am confident that the COAs can make significant contributions to the Conference. This will be critical to achieve synergies among voluntary commitment holders, by providing updates on their implementation and generating new voluntary commitments in support of Goal 14.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs stands ready to continue supporting the valuable work of the voluntary commitment holders and the COAs.
Thank you.
It is my pleasure to address you at this important event on the margins of COP25.
We are four years into the historic adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. And at the recent SDG Summit, we have started a new Decade of Action to deliver on the SDGs and their targets.
The transformative 2030 Agenda has galvanized actors across multiple sectors. It has forged promising partnerships towards the achievement of all SDGs, including SDG 14. Voluntary commitments – registered by Member States and other stakeholders – constituted one of the key outcomes of the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference. To date, there are 1,573 pledges, and the list is still growing.
To follow up on these voluntary commitments, the United Nations launched nine thematic multi-stakeholder Communities of Ocean Action (COAs), in November 2017. The importance of the COAs is underlined by the fact that we cannot accomplish the 2030 Agenda without multi-stakeholder partnerships.
In May this year, members of COAs and other stakeholders gathered in Incheon, Republic of Korea. They discussed challenges and shared successes in the implementation of voluntary commitments. We agreed that, although progress is being made, there are still gaps in coverage and implementation of these commitments. More private sector and scientific community stakeholders are needed to advance implementation of SDG 14 – especially in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean region.
In my capacity as a Co-focal point for the COA on Sustainable Blue Economy, I am pleased to note that good progress has been made in the implementation of voluntary commitments belonging to this COA. In fact, around 90 percent of the voluntary commitments that reported on their progress, were on-track with their activities, or already completed.
However, the coverage of existing voluntary commitments is uneven. For instance, certain sectors of sustainable blue economy – such as marine biotechnology and marine renewable energy – are lagging behind in receiving Voluntary Commitments (VCs). Moreover, there is need for scientific communities and the private sector to be part of the transition to a sustainable blue economy.
We need to intensify our efforts to fill the gaps and address the challenges COAs are facing, in stakeholder coordination and resource deficiencies. It is also important for voluntary commitment holders to regularly report on their activities. In this way, other members of COAs can learn from each other’s experience.
Dear participants,
The ocean and climate are deeply interlinked.
Our planet is facing daunting challenges that put the very existence of some countries and the planet itself, at risk. Sea-levels are set to rise in some countries – much higher than the global average. Half of all live, coral cover on coral reefs, has been lost in the past 150 years.
Plastic is expected to outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050 if no effective action is taken. The unsustainable levels of stress on marine and coastal ecosystems need to be addressed urgently.
Over the past few days, we have heard repeatedly that if global warming reaches two degrees Celsius or more, it will bring catastrophic damage to marine life and humans alike.
• We must mobilize all stakeholders of the COAs – including UN System entities – to address the intertwined challenges of climate change and ocean health.• We must align our actions with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda – and facilitate collaboration among different actors in support of SDGs 13 and 14 and their targets.• We must catalyze and generate new voluntary commitments to scale up ocean action and climate action – in all areas identified in the targets of SDG13, SDG14 and beyond.
Excellencies,
In about 6 months, the 2020 UN Ocean Conference will be convened in Lisbon, Portugal. Member States and other relevant stakeholders are invited to provide an update on the implementation of the voluntary commitments, and to support the sharing of experiences and lessons learned. It will certainly become another milestone for the implementation of SDG14 and its targets.
As the Secretary-General of the 2020 UN Ocean Conference, I am confident that the COAs can make significant contributions to the Conference. This will be critical to achieve synergies among voluntary commitment holders, by providing updates on their implementation and generating new voluntary commitments in support of Goal 14.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs stands ready to continue supporting the valuable work of the voluntary commitment holders and the COAs.
Thank you.
File date:
Saturday, December 7, 2019