A Landmark UN Treaty Is Poised to Curb Exploitation of the Ocean
After years of negotiations, wording has been agreed on for a high seas biodiversity treaty to protect marine life in the 60% of the ocean beyond any nation’s jurisdiction.
If ratified, the UN high seas biodiversity treaty could build in new hurdles for corporations operating on the high seas.
Photographer: Eva Hambach/AFP/Getty Images
An agreement reached Saturday night on the wording of a historic United Nations treaty to protect marine biodiversity could mark the end of the unregulated exploitation of the ocean, an increasingly urgent concern as climate impacts multiply.
The ocean supplies half the planet’s oxygen, absorbs more than a third of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and feeds billions of people. If ratified, the UN high seas biodiversity treaty could build in new hurdles for corporations operating on the high seas — defined as the 60% of the ocean beyond any nation’s jurisdiction — including for those companies proposing to remove carbon dioxide from the ocean.