H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly,H.E. Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General,Ms. Natalia Vega-Berry and Mr. Michael P Tracy, Co-founders of the Global Brain Foundation,Ladies and gentlemen,
First, let me join everyone in thanking the Global Brain Foundation, the organizers of the World Ocean Festival, and thanking the City of New York for hosting this event on beautiful Governor’s Island.
This is a timely event, taking place just ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference.
As Conference Secretary-General, I wish to underscore the tremendous outreach potential of this Festival.
Through enhanced awareness-raising, we will be able to rally more action and commitment towards saving our oceans.
Oceans provide half of the oxygen we are breathing; absorb 90 per cent of the additional heat from our CO2 emissions; and provide livelihoods to billions of people around the world.
Healthy coral reefs can reduce 97 per cent of wave energy and protect coastlines from the damaging effects of wave action and tropical storms; they provide habitats and shelter for marine organisms and nitrogen and other essential nutrients for marine food chains
However, we cannot take all these ecosystem services for granted.
The warming of the oceans leads to acidification, loss of biodiversity and sea level rise.
It is estimated that the world’s coral reefs will likely disappear by 2050. Extreme weather events will be more and more frequent. Meanwhile, plastics are filling up the oceans, doing further damage.
We need to take action now, and SDG14 will guide us in this common endeavor - to stop marine pollution, to protect coastal ecosystems, to fight ocean acidification, to end overfishing, to sustain livelihoods of coastal communities.
We can all be part of this. Start small. Even committing to stop using single-use plastic bottles helps.
I am sure the winners of the World Ocean Festival Awards today will be great examples for us to follow.
I thank you very much and hope you will all enjoy this fun and educational event today.
First, let me join everyone in thanking the Global Brain Foundation, the organizers of the World Ocean Festival, and thanking the City of New York for hosting this event on beautiful Governor’s Island.
This is a timely event, taking place just ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference.
As Conference Secretary-General, I wish to underscore the tremendous outreach potential of this Festival.
Through enhanced awareness-raising, we will be able to rally more action and commitment towards saving our oceans.
Oceans provide half of the oxygen we are breathing; absorb 90 per cent of the additional heat from our CO2 emissions; and provide livelihoods to billions of people around the world.
Healthy coral reefs can reduce 97 per cent of wave energy and protect coastlines from the damaging effects of wave action and tropical storms; they provide habitats and shelter for marine organisms and nitrogen and other essential nutrients for marine food chains
However, we cannot take all these ecosystem services for granted.
The warming of the oceans leads to acidification, loss of biodiversity and sea level rise.
It is estimated that the world’s coral reefs will likely disappear by 2050. Extreme weather events will be more and more frequent. Meanwhile, plastics are filling up the oceans, doing further damage.
We need to take action now, and SDG14 will guide us in this common endeavor - to stop marine pollution, to protect coastal ecosystems, to fight ocean acidification, to end overfishing, to sustain livelihoods of coastal communities.
We can all be part of this. Start small. Even committing to stop using single-use plastic bottles helps.
I am sure the winners of the World Ocean Festival Awards today will be great examples for us to follow.
I thank you very much and hope you will all enjoy this fun and educational event today.
File date:
Sunday, June 4, 2017