The European Commission welcomed on June 2024 the adoption by the Council of a decision to conclude the United Nations agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), also known as the ‘High Seas Treaty’. With this decision, the EU is now ready to formally deposit the ratification instrument, which the EU and its Member States are committed to doing before the next UN Ocean conference in June 2025.
The EU played a key role in reaching the BBNJ agreement and strongly encourages all countries to promptly ratify the treaty. It will enter into force once it receives 60 ratifications. Currently, seven countries have ratified the treaty and 89 have signed it.
The treaty will provide for shared governance over approximately half of the Earth’s surface and 95% of the ocean’s volume. It will allow for the establishment of marine protected areas on the high seas, safeguarding the ocean from human pressures in a major contribution to addressing climate change, protecting biodiversity and achieving the objective to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030. The treaty addresses a glaring gap in ocean protection, as only about 1% of the high seas is currently protected. The areas covered by e treaty are essential for both ecological resilience and resource provision for people.
The EU has pledged to support the treaty’s implementation in particular by developing countries by mobilising funds from the EU Global Ocean Programme and has invited other major donors to do the same.