The EU’s Commitments at the One Ocean Summit

Representatives from more than 100 countries came together in Brest, France

On February 11, representatives from more than 100 countries came together at the One Ocean Summit in Brest, France to make ambitious commitments for the preservation of the oceans.

Organised by the Republic of France as part of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, between February 9 and February 11, the Summit aimed to mobilise the European and international community to raise the level of ambition on maritime issues and to take concrete actions to reduce the degradation of the oceans

On February 9 and 10, over 30 workshops, events and fora were held to engage key stakeholders within the international maritime community and amplify action plans for the oceans. On February 11, Heads of State and Governments from across the globe met to make ambitious commitments and to launch important initiatives to preserve biodiversity, stop overexploitation of marine resources, fight pollution, and mitigate climate change.

Throughout this Summit, the European Commission presented several actions and initiatives contributing to global ocean preservation and was able to demonstrate the European Union’s leading role in bringing comprehensive response to the oceans’ challenges. The key initiatives for Joint Cooperation announced at the Summit as part of the EU’s contribution were:

1. High Ambition Coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) – An international collation to protect biodiversity on high seas, which constitute 95% of the oceans.
2. Research Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ – A research mission that aims to deliver on the European Green Deal by restoring ecosystems and biodiversity, and eliminating pollution in our oceans and waters.
3. European Digital Twin Ocean platform - A major computing project allowing researchers to digitally simulate the world's oceans. This will place the European Union as a digital champion for the oceans.

These initiatives and actions along with others proposed during the Summit form part of the Brest Commitments for the Oceans. This document brings together powerful commitments agreed upon by leaders during the first edition of the One Ocean Summit to work together swiftly and tangibly to put a stop to the degradation of the oceans.