Oceans Day 2024, why they are warming and what we risk

As a result of climate change, the oceans are warming like never before:here are the risks facing marine life but also the entire planet

ROME – Saturday 8 June will be celebrated World Oceans Day, World Oceans Day 2024.But the oceans, unfortunately, haven't been doing well for a while.In fact, it is now well known that are getting dramatically warmer, around the world, as had never happened before.This is an effect of climate change, which could have very serious repercussions not only for the life of fish and other creatures that have their home within them (and which in some cases are disappearing), but also for humans.

“THE OCEANS ARE WARMING”

These are the words of the High Representative-Vice-President, Josep Borrell, and the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius:“The oceans are essential to life on earth;play a crucial role in climate regulation, they provide more oxygen than all existing forests and are fundamental to meeting pressing global challenges in food security, energy and accelerating the green transition." However, ocean temperatures have never been this high and marine life is disappearing at an unprecedented rate, putting the planet at risk.Our oceans, which are the largest carbon sink on the planet, cannot wait for a reversal of this dramatic evolution, and neither can we."

THE UN OCEAN CONFERENCE IN 2025

“Since last year's World Oceans Day, we have witnessed promising progress in ocean protection,” they point out. “On 19 June 2023, a historic agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity was adopted in high seas, known as the agreement on biodiversity in areas not subject to national jurisdiction".The note continues:“With the vote of the European Parliament on 24 April, the European Union is getting closer to its ratification - they explain - The task facing us now is to reach 60 ratifications of the agreement so that it can enter into force and be effectively implemented. We aim to reach the goal by June 2025, when the United Nations Ocean Conference will be held in France“.

40 COMMITMENTS FOR THE OCEANS

“The EU acts.Ocean sustainability is a priority of the Union's green diplomacy.At the ninth 'Our Ocean' conference, held in Greece earlier this year, the EU took up 40 new commitments that aim to achieve safe, clean, healthy and sustainably managed oceans, worth around 3.5 billion euros from various EU funds, the highest contribution from the Union since the start of the 'Our Ocean' conferences ten years ago - they conclude -. Protecting the oceans is a shared responsibility and only the implementation of global solutions, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity and the Agreement on Biodiversity in Areas Outside National Jurisdiction, can help achieve the goal.”