“We only have one planet and 71 per cent of its surface is covered by water,” said Liu Zhenmin, UN DESA Under-Secretary-General and Secretary-General of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, stressing the critical role the ocean plays for the quality of life of all human beings, as he joined the SDG Media Zone on 27 June 2022.
In a buzzing Altice Arena in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, Mr. Liu was welcomed to the stage together with Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of the UN Economic and Social Council, to discuss “From Lisbon to New York: A preview of the SDG 14 review at the High-level Political Forum.” The session was moderated by Lucy Calderón, Earth Journalism Network.
Mr. Liu emphasized the goals of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference and the urgent need for ocean action to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, pointing to the fact that the ocean is the largest sink for greenhouse gas emissions globally.
Mr. Kelapile highlighted the immediate next steps for taking ocean action forward – the in-depth review of SDG 14, on life below water, at the upcoming UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), taking place at UN Headquarters in New York on 5-15 July.
The SDG Media Zone at the UN Ocean Conference takes place from 27 June to 1 July 2022 and is hosted by the United Nations, in collaboration with the PVBLIC Foundation and media partners. The platform aims to take the conversation on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) out of the policy sphere and into the larger public.
Watch the complete session in the SDG Media Zone here.