August 15, 2022 New York, United States
The iconic Brooklyn Bridge in New York was lit up overnight with vast projections showing the beauty and fragility of the oceans. Governments are meeting at the United Nations in New York this week to negotiate a new Global Ocean Treaty, which will determine the fate of the oceans.
The projections were created by Greenpeace USA using powerful projectors to light up the Brooklyn Bridge. The projections featured ocean life calling on humans to share the oceans with them responsibly and sustainably by finalising a strong Treaty at the United Nations.
Aakash Naik of Greenpeace’s Protect the Oceans campaign said [2]: “The oceans support all life on earth, but centuries of neglect have pushed them into crisis. The strength of the new Global Ocean Treaty will decide whether we can fix this crisis, or if we will continue with the broken status quo. That’s why we’ve lit up the Brooklyn Bridge, turning this iconic New York spot into a monument to ocean beauty.
“Governments have been discussing this Treaty for almost two decades. While they’ve talked, the oceans and the people who rely on them have suffered. We can’t afford any more delay. Over five million people have joined our call for a strong Treaty to be finalised in 2022. Negotiators must know that the world is watching as they decide the future of our blue planet.”
These talks, also known as Intergovernmental Conference 5 (IGC5), are the fifth and final round of negotiations to finalise a Treaty.
A strong Treaty would make it possible to create vast ocean sanctuaries, free from destructive human activities, in international waters. This will be a vital step towards protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030, the 30×30 target, which scientists say is the absolute minimum necessary to give the oceans space to recover.
49 countries have committed at the highest political level to deliver a strong Global Ocean Treaty this year. Negotiators must now follow through on these commitments, and deliver a Treaty that is robust enough to deliver ocean protection.