A ban on deep-sea mining this year would be easy and effective biodiversity and climate action.
As an island nation, Ireland needs to lead the charge on marine protection in this year’s COP27 climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh this week.
Speaking from the European Parliament on Tuesday (8 November), O’Sullivan welcomed President Macron’s announcement in support of a full moratorium on deep sea-bed mining.
“This is great news and comes just weeks after we successfully negotiated a European Parliament Resolution calling for the very same. In the past, President Macron has been reticent to support a full ban, so this is real progress. This is significant as France has one of the largest sea areas in the world, due to its many small islands across the world (where they tried to arrest me a number of times for protesting bombing tests, pollution and climate change throughout the 80s.) It’s now time that Ireland takes up this fight and leads from the front.”
She noted that this year there has been significant action on ocean protection on three levels; national, European and international, and COP27 is the perfect opportunity for Ireland to push the boat out when it comes to concrete action.
“At home under Minister Malcolm Noonan we are undertaking the largest overhaul in marine protection and planning in the history of the State, including a commitment to protecting 30% of our seas by 2030. In the EU, we are coming towards the end of years of negotiating the biggest reform of fisheries in a decade. Meanwhile, internationally we are creating some of the largest marine protected areas in history on the High Seas.”
“The IPCC has consistently shown that we are in a ‘Code Red for Humanity’. This month, at that conference on the Red Sea coast, Ireland needs to play to our strengths as an island nation. This should include helping developing countries build marine protected areas, ending environmentally harmful industrial fishing practices and finally putting in place an international ban on seabed mining.”
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