Washington, DC – Prince Charles on Wednesday delivered an address to world leaders gathered at the Our Ocean Conference currently underway in Palau. The Royal, who has spoken out about environmental issues for over three decades, delivered a pre-recorded message speaking of the importance of taking immediate action to address several environmental issues, including climate change, plastic pollution, and illegal and unregulated fishing.
Warning of the dire consequences of inaction, Prince Charles noted that some countries like Palau are already experiencing devastating impacts from climate change. He also stated that the evidence is “unequivocal” that plastics, which are polluting our water and entering our food chains, are also poisoning our bodies. The Prince also highlighted the need to dramatically increase the scale of marine protected areas and to support sustainable fishing practices.
Greenpeace USA Ocean Campaign Director John Hocevar said:
“We welcome the strong position taken by Prince Charles on these critical issues and support his call for urgent action to address the multiple crises confronting us. Greenpeace, which is also attending the conference, agrees with Prince Charles that we must protect at least 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030. This is why we are urging governments to adopt a strong Global Ocean Treaty at the UN this year. We also agree with Prince Charles that illegal and unregulated fishing on the high seas should be brought to an end and seafood supply chains freed from the atrocities of forced labor.
“We have also advocated for a Global Plastics Treaty that will reduce plastic production and use and speed the shift from throwaway packaging to reusable and refillable options. We believe that corporations like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, and Unilever – the world’s biggest plastic polluters – have a critical role to play in reducing plastic pollution by increasing their commitments to refill and reuse solutions. We will not prevent plastic from poisoning our oceans or ourselves by focusing on recycling – we must solve the problem at the source.”
“Additionally, instead of seeking to launch the new destructive deep sea mining industry in one of the most important, fragile, and least understood ecosystems on our planet, governments and corporations should invest in and scale-up solutions like public transportation and renewable energy. As Jason Momoa made clear in his address to the conference yesterday, the detrimental effects on the lives and livelihoods of communities like those in the Pacific should not be ignored in the rush to mine the deep for the benefit of wealthy corporations. Countries must reckon with the fact that none of us will escape the consequences of a depleted and unhealthy ocean. It is reckless and self-defeating to build the green energy transition on its destruction.”
###
Contact: Tanya Brooks, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, P: 703-342-9226, E: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
