With 469 commitments (commitments) for the protection of the seas, totaling 11.35 billion dollars, the work of the 9th “Our Ocean Conference” (OOC-9) was completed on the evening of Wednesday, April 17, 2024, the Ministry of the Environment announced today and Energy.

The international Conference was organized with the funding of the Ministry of Environment and Energy and was hosted in Athens, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), on April 16-17, while it was preceded on April 15 by the 7th “Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit».

In the context of OOC-9, the Greek government announced 21 commitments, totaling more than 800 million dollars, while at the same time the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced the launch of the Decarbonization Fund for the Greek islands, financed by the rights of the European Emissions Trading System.

“This Fund, whose resources could eventually reach €2 billion, depending on the price of the carbon right, is to finance the connection of our islands to the mainland grid, energy storage and Renewable Energy Sources, including of offshore wind energy. It will contribute to the construction of multipurpose water tanks“, underlined the Greek Prime Minister, during his greeting at OOC-9.

Some of the most basic commitments of Greece concern:

In the creation of two large marine national parks, one in the Ionian and one in the Aegean, which increase the size of the Marine Protected Areas of Greece by 80%.

Banning trawl fishing in national marine parks by 2026 and in all Marine Protected Areas by 2030.

In the establishment of a national monitoring and surveillance system of Marine Protected Areas.

To remove plastic waste from water by 50% and microplastics by 30% by 2030, compared to 2019.

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, together with the Secretary General of Natural Environment and Water, Petros Varelidis, participated in a special event, where several of the Greek commitments were specified. It is worth pointing out that 13 of Greece’s 21 commitments concern the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

At the closing ceremony of the international Conference, Mr. Skylakakis handed over the “baton” for the holding of the 10th OOC, to be held in Busan, South Korea in 2025, to the Deputy Minister of Oceans and Fisheries of South Korea, Myeong-dal SONG .

The Greek Minister of Environment and Energy pointed out that the success of the 9th OOC is due to all those who participated in it, i.e. the governments, the young people, the private organizations, etc. “the future does not belong to us, but to our children, our grandchildren and the generations to come”, as he characteristically said.

“The Ocean can save us, but we must save it first, after all we must not forget that we are not the owners of the Earth, but simple managers of it“, stressed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis.

The Prime Minister’s special envoy for the Oceans, coordinator of the “Our Ocean Conference 2024“, Dr. Dionysia – Theodora Avgerinopoulou, warmly thanked the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, the co-competent ministers for the kind cooperation, as well as all the participants for the high-level and numerous representation in the 9th “Our Ocean Conference».

“Greece organized the most successful “Our Ocean” Conference in the history of the institution. In Athens, nearly 500 new major engagements were announced, compared to a total of around 2,100 announced in previous events. Great ideas were presented, partnerships and initiatives for sustainable management were born, while another important push was made to ratify the International Convention on Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).“, she noted.

The former US Secretary of State, John Kerry, during whose term the OOC initiative was launched in 2014, noted, speaking at the Conference, that the total commitments in these 9 years of the OOC exceed 2,500, with a budget of 138 billion dollars.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the Conference, underlining that the planet’s water is not a private resource for a few, but a sacred gift for all. Archbishop Hieronymos, Prince Albert of Monaco, Prime Ministers and Presidents of States, dozens of Environment and Fisheries Ministers, Foreign Ministers and more than 3,500 delegates attended the OOC-9 proceedings.

In total, more than 100 events took place, including speeches on the SNFCC main stage and side events, stressing that it is of the utmost importance that states and organizations take action to save the seas, as there is no room for procrastination. In addition, an OOC secretariat was established to systematically monitor the implementation of the commitments.