“Time’s up”: BLOOM launches the citizen coalition for the protection of ocean at European level.

At the beginning of October, renowned scientists – those who have already warned us many times – told us the brutal truth: the world as we have always known it is disappearing. We are entering a new climatic and environmental paradigm. Perilous times lie ahead and an awakening of our political class is more vital than ever. A change of course is urgent: protecting our oceans and climate is the only hope we have to adapt to the coming upheavals and to ensure that our planet remains at least livable for future generations rather than an uninhabitable hell.

Yet, despite the warnings and climate blasts, the battle for European action on climate and the environment looks set to be fiercer than ever. The new European Parliament, with its majority of right-wing and far-right decision-makers, demands even greater perseverance and determination.

We’re not giving up, we’re not losing hope. 

In response to the emergency and current inaction of policy makers, civil society, citizens, scientists, and public figures are organizing. On October 16, 2024, the European launch of the citizen coalition for the protection of the ocean took place in Brussels. Orchestrated by BLOOM, the event brought together dozens of NGOs, activists, artists, policymakers and scientists to demand that European institutions meet their responsibility to protect our lives, by carrying and implementing during their new mandate the 15 key points to protect the ocean, supported by the coalition. We must put an end to procrastination. Time is running out. Organized at the dawn of the new European mandate, the TIME’S UP event marked the start of a European mobilization that will only cease when the imperative victories for the ocean are achieved.

With this European coalition, more than 140 NGOs and almost 50,000 citizens are calling for the adoption of “15 Points for the Ocean and the climate” a list of urgent and indispensable measures to end the degradation of the ocean.

During the evening, BLOOM and numerous supporters addressed an open letter to the  President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Signed by tens of thousands of people, the letter calls on the President of the European Commission to commit to implementing the 15 points for the ocean and climate to change the course of events and protect all living things and our future. 

>>>I sign the letter to Ursula von der Leyen<<<

October 16 was also an opportunity to bring worlds that too often struggle to communicate into the same room. Young European activists, NGOs, scientists and citizens came to the event to share their expertise with the several MEPs, European Commission officials and European diplomats that joined our event.  We discussed the impacts of industrial fishing with Stephane Pinto, a French artisanal fisherman, and the protection of marine protected areas with the international NGO Oceana. The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, Seas at Risk, and the Sustainable Ocean Alliance delved into the gigantic risks posed by Deep Sea Mining development, while the associations Surfrider, Seastemik, and the European Environmental Bureau highlighted the colossal damage related to chemical, organic, and plastic pollution. Of course we also talked about fossil fuels with Oil Change International.

A number of committed artists also took to the stage to stand alongside the coalition in this battle for life and justice. Time’s up was a cross-cultural event and together, on this evening, we overcame the feeling of powerlessness and conveyed the urgency to act for a sustainable future.

The ocean is our vital ally in the fight against climate change, but it is currently facing unprecedented challenges. In 2024, the United Nations issued a global SOS concerning rising sea levels in the Pacific, which now threaten entire nations. The FAO has sounded the alarm over the growing overexploitation of fish stocks, and the Copernicus observatory has recorded ocean surface temperatures at levels never seen before. These warnings represent only a fraction of the urgent problems affecting our oceans.

In 8 months’ time, a window of opportunity for major progress will open up for major advances: the third United Nations Ocean Conference.  This event, to be held in France in June 2025, is a decisive milestone at which the commitment of the European institutions to protect the oceans could set an example and lead the rest of the world. If we act collectively to put pressure on European decision-makers, we can achieve unprecedented victories for the ocean and the climate in the run-up to this international summit.

As the IPCC points out in its latest report, protecting and restoring ecosystems is the second most effective lever for stepping up climate action. The European Union, the world’s leading maritime power ahead of the United States, has the power to avoid the worst and guarantee the Earth’s habitability.

Youth, citizens, non-profits, Europe demand immediate and effective protection for the ocean and the climate.

It is imperative that our institutions act on the scale of the climate emergency.

Youth, citizens, non-profits stressed the need to act on the scale of the climate emergency and demandes immediate and effective protection for the ocean and the climate in a letter to the President of the European Commission.

Time is running out, our energy and determination are not.

 

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