Renewing calls for ocean action in 2023

The Co-Chairs of Friends of Ocean Action and the World Economic Forum’s Ocean Action Agenda have released a new statement, Ocean Action in 2023, calling for renewed vigour in ocean action through the year ahead.

Signed by Friends of Ocean Action Co-Chairs Isabella Lövin and Ambassador Peter Thomson alongside Director of the World Economic Forum’s Ocean Action Agenda Kristian Teleki, the statement acknowledges progress made in 2022 – and goes on to highlight key priorities and opportunities in 2023 to stop the decline in ocean health.

Critical next steps and opportunities for ocean action outlined in the statement include:

  • Progress for marine protection at the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) in Vancouver in February 2023 IMPAC5, to achieve 30% protection of the ocean by 2030
  • Adoption of a robust, binding High Seas Treaty at the Fifth Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity Beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction (IGC5) in New York in early 2023
  • Completion of the process to end harmful fisheries subsidies, by World Trade Organization members delivering their formal acceptance of the WTO deal agreed in 2022 as a matter of urgency

In the statement, Ocean Action in 2023, the co-signatories conclude:

“In this restating of our commitment to global and local efforts to ensure a healthy ocean is sustained for generations to come, we call upon people from all walks of life to join us in support of a healthy ocean.”

Read the full statement here, and learn more about what the World Economic Forum is doing to boost ocean health here.

For further information please contact:

Gemma Parkes, Communications Lead, Ocean Action Agenda, World Economic Forum

gpa@weforum.org or +41 79 305 2977