Lisbon, 27 June 2022 – Movie star and ocean activist Jason Momoa was designated the UN Setting Program’s (UNEP) Advocate for Life Underneath Water within the current day at a severe conference mobilizing world help for an ocean besieged by the triple planetary catastrophe of native climate change, biodiversity loss and rampant air air pollution.
The UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya and attended by tons of of ocean advocates from enterprise, civil society and authorities – along with a variety of Heads of State – will advance progress on science-based choices to verify larger administration and conservation of the ocean and its belongings. The conference, which is aligned to SDG 14, life underneath water, stresses the essential need for scientific data and marine know-how to assemble ocean resilience, and is anticipated to culminate in a negotiated political declaration.
The Aquaman actor, who has labored with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and rePurpose Worldwide, described how humbled he felt to be entrusted with the responsibility to promote ocean nicely being: “With this designation, I hope to proceed my very personal journey to protect and protect the ocean and all dwelling points on our beautiful blue planet, for our period and the generations to return.”
The native Hawaiian with Polynesian roots, who has prolonged championed the rights of people of island nations, described how rising up on considered one of many world’s most beautiful archipelagos ingrained in him a reverence for the ocean and nature that has solely deepened over time “For me, the ocean is an historic coach, a data and a muse. Moreover it’s existential. With no healthful ocean, life on our planet as everyone knows it couldn’t exist.”
Momoa, who’s the star of Aquaman and the upcoming sequelAquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom, made remarks ahead of the Youth and Innovation Dialogue board, the place he arrived on a ship to acquire the Nature Baton from the UN Explicit Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson. Momoa then handed the baton to youth representatives sooner than they, in flip, handed it to the UN Secretary-Regular. The Nature Baton, a world collaboration for the ocean’s wellbeing, has shone a spotlight on the need for movement to keep away from losing the world’s ocean, and is a metaphor for the journey ocean champions have taken this yr from Brest to Nairobi for the UN Setting Assembly, to Palau for the Our Oceans Conference, and for World Setting Day in Stockholm, on the road to Lisbon.
“We’re so comfortable to have Jason Momoa changing into a member of the UN family as UNEP’s Advocate for Life Underneath Water. Jason has a strong observe file of advocating for ocean factors, from reducing single-use plastic air air pollution to defending coral reefs,” said UNEP’s Govt Director, Inger Andersen. “In 2021, the 4 main measures of native climate change – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea stage rise, ocean temperatures and ocean acidification – all hit file highs. This means the time for movement is now.”
“With an unlimited viewers of engaged followers, we contemplate that Jason can switch ocean points into the hearts and minds of residents and enterprise leaders to promote this urgency and movement,” she added.
Early commitments from the conference embody pledges from the USA and the European Payment to hitch UNEP’s Clear Seas Advertising and marketing marketing campaign, bolstering what’s already a very powerful advertising marketing campaign dedicated to ending marine litter and plastic air air pollution on this planet. They be part of newcomers Tanzania, Uganda, Cabo Verde, Rwanda and Portugal in an initiative that now represents 75 % of the world’s shoreline. Further voluntary commitments – following the 2017 conference’s 1,406 – are moreover anticipated to be made to cope with ocean-related factors that impact communities and worldwide areas.
On the Ocean Summit Event 17, governments – along with Australia, Belgium, Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya, Thailand, Vanuatu, and 10 Brazilian states – pledged to hitch the New Plastics Monetary system Worldwide Dedication. They joined 11 governments who made the Worldwide Dedication on the One Oceans Summit in February, as correctly the 5 hundred+ signatories who’re supporting the transition to a spherical monetary system and serving to to cope with the plastic air air pollution catastrophe that threatens the nicely being of our ocean.
The landmark environmental conference, which will also be aligned with the UN A few years of Ocean Science for Sustainable Enchancment and Ecosystem Restoration, carried out host to the ‘Giant Plastic Faucet’, a three-story art work arrange constructed from 200 kilos of plastic waste supplied by native waste administration agency, Novo Verde and sponsored by Iberdrola and Cultura Inquieta. The brainchild of activist Benjamin Von Wong, the arrange was initially constructed in Nairobi for the fifth UN Environmental Assembly, and now sits inside the coronary coronary heart of Lisbon’s multicultural district of Park of the Nations, the place it is a visceral reminder to passersby of the size of the plastic air air pollution downside and the urgency for humanity to ‘flip off the plastic faucet’ from provide to sea.
The need to revive and protect coral reefs will also be a priority on the conference’s Sustainable Blue Monetary system Funding Dialogue board, the place the Worldwide Fund for Coral Reefs, a UNEP and companion backed initiative and the world’s largest blended finance automotive dedicated to SDG 14, will in all probability be bolstered by extra financial commitments.
The 250+ event conference choices 4 specific events, along with, a Youth and Innovation Dialogue board, a Extreme-Diploma Symposium on Water, and a Sustainable Blue Monetary system Funding Dialogue board. Eight multistakeholder dialogues, on themes ranging from marine air air pollution and sustainable fisheries to marine know-how and the promotion and strengthening of sustainable ocean-based economies – particularly for Small Island Creating States and Least Developed Nations – will consider alternate options and challenges to spur commitments and ocean movement.
Key UN Ocean Conference hyperlinks:
Web pages: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/ocean2022
Purposes: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/ocean2022/programme
Observe reside (Official Program): UN WebTV
Media corners: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/ocean2022/media
SaveOurOcean Actions: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/5-actions-you-can-take-to-saveourocean/
Registry for Voluntary Commitments: https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/action-networks/ocean-commitments
NOTES TO EDITORS
Regarding the UN Ocean Conference
The Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, comes at an important time as a result of the world is in search of to cope with the a lot of the deep-rooted problems with our societies laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and which might require foremost structural transformations and customary shared choices which is perhaps anchored inside the SDGs.
To mobilize movement, the Conference will search to propel lots wished science-based revolutionary choices at starting a model new chapter of world ocean movement. Choices for a sustainably managed ocean include inexperienced know-how and revolutionary makes use of of marine belongings. Moreover they embody addressing the threats to nicely being, ecology, monetary system and governance of the ocean – acidification, marine litter and air air pollution, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and the shortage of habitats and biodiversity.
Regarding the United Nations Setting Program (UNEP)
UNEP is the primary world voice on the environment. It provides administration and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to reinforce their prime quality of life with out compromising that of future generations.
For additional information, please contact:
Keisha Rukikaire, Head of Data and Media, UN Setting Program
Moses Osani, Media Officer, UN Setting Program