No agreement has been reached at the ONU to protect the oceans

ONU talks fail to reach treaty to protect world's oceans

R. Gelfenstein - Countries have failed to agree to protect the future of the oceans, and activists accuse leaders of "endangering the livelihoods and food security of billions of people around the world."

The treaty appears to have collapsed after blockades by some rich countries, severely undermining the promise of dozens of countries to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030.

An ocean treaty was supposed to create "marine protected areas" to allow biodiversity to thrive and require environmental assessments for heavy industry such as offshore mining.

This was the fifth round of negotiations on a treaty that had been in process for nearly two decades. The countries intend to resume negotiations at a later date, the Land Negotiations Bulletin reported.

On #WorldOceansDay take a minute to think about our oceans...

🌊Oceans act as the largest carbon sink in the 🌍
🌊Oceans host 80% of life on the 🌍
🌊Oceans provide half of the 🌍’s oxygen

How we can all act to #SaveOurOceans 👇 pic.twitter.com/zePFY7XJZl

— Food and Agriculture Organization (@FAO) June 8, 2020

Currently, there is no legal protection for the "high seas", about two-thirds of international waters that are not linked to any country and are open to navigation, fishing and research for all.

The ocean, which covers 70% of the planet and sustains life on Earth, is under multiple attacks due to the climate crisis, environmental pollution and industrial exploitation.

Scientists say more than 11 million square kilometers of ocean must be protected each year during this decade to achieve this goal.