UN secretary-general apologises for not protecting oceans

While in Portugal for a youth conference, UN Secretary-General António Guterres apologised on Sunday for the lack of attention older generations and policy-makers give to the oceans, stressing that it is still a slow process to reverse the problem.

Guterres was speaking at the closing session of the Youth and Innovation Forum of the UN Oceans Conference 2022 (UNOC-United Nations Ocean Conference), at Carcavelos beach, near Lisbon.

“I want to apologise on behalf of my generation, to your generation, regarding the state of the ocean, the state of biodiversity and the state of climate change,” Guterres told an audience of young people.

Guterres ​​​​​​​acknowledged that his generation was politically responsible for the deteriorating condition of the oceans because it was slow or even “unwilling to recognise that conditions were deteriorating in the sea”.

“Even today, we are slowly moving towards reversing the trend and rehabilitating the oceans, saving biodiversity and stopping climate change,” he added.

Meanwhile, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, also present at the conference, warned young people should not trust decision-makers and fight for themselves against climate change.

“You have to fight for yourselves, don’t trust the decision-makers, there are exceptions, there are some who will always be your greatest allies, but not most,” said Rebelo de Sousa.

“The only way to be stronger is to fight for that and not to believe that someone else will fight for you”, the president told young people from 30 countries participating in the forum.

The United Nations Conference on Oceans (UNOC) will be held this year in Lisbon, co-chaired by Portugal and Kenya, and attended by heads of state and government from all continents.

More than 7,000 participants from over 140 countries, 38 specialised agencies and international organisations, over 1,000 non-governmental organisations, 410 companies and 154 universities are expected to attend.

Read more with Euractiv

Spain approves anti-crisis package targeting energy companies

The government on Saturday (25 June) approved a new anti-crisis package worth €9.1 billion aimed at reducing the impact of inflation on the most vulnerable and targeting the windfall profits made by big energy companies this year due to the soaring price of gas on global markets.