COP 25 - Monaco Takes Part in the "Blue Leaders" Round Table

©DR

On 11 December, as a side-event of the 25^th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held from 2 to 15 December in Madrid, H.E. Mr Jean-Luc Van Klaveren, Ambassador of Monaco to Spain, represented the Principality at the "Blue Leaders" ministerial round table.

The aim of this event was to discuss the main future opportunities to strengthen the protection of the oceans in the context of the intergovernmental negotiations to be held in 2020, drawing in particular on the conclusions of the Special Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate.

Responding to a question on the importance of the report in the context of the ongoing negotiations at the United Nations, the Ambassador reiterated the importance the Principality places on preserving the oceans and recalled the pressures they face in a changing climate and their crucial role as a climate regulator.

In addition, H.E. Mr Jean-Luc Van Klaveren emphasised that the IPCC's Report highlighted that the link between biodiversity, the oceans and the climate should be at the top of the international environmental policy agenda and that nature-based solutions, such as Marine Protected Areas, deserve particular attention.

This second meeting of the "Blue Leaders" was co-organised by Belgium and the Principality of Monaco. As a reminder, the Blue Leaders consist of Heads of State, Ministers, scientists and activists, for whom the issue of ocean conservation is central to their concerns.

* At the United Nations, Member States are negotiating a new legally binding international instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).

** The Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are expected to adopt a new global framework for biodiversity post 2020 at the 15^th Conference of the Parties, to be held in October 2020 in Kunming, China.