I move:
That Dáil Éireann, on foot of the One Ocean Summit held in Brest, France, from 9-11 February 2022, hereby acknowledges—
— the role of the world's oceans as weather and climate regulators, providers of oxygen and food, a source of renewable energy and natural resources, and as conduits for trade, and connecting societies and people,
— the consequences of climate change, biodiversity loss and polluted oceans are clear and interlinked, meaning that fragile ocean ecosystems are suffering from environmental degradation and biodiversity loss,
— the need to adopt strategies capable of supporting ambitions on sustainable use of marine resources while meeting climate resilience, biodiversity protection and pollution prevention goals,
— specifically, the need to take action to—
— expand the network of global protected marine areas and restore marine ecosystems,
— combat illegal fishing and promote sustainable fishing and aquaculture,
— prevent all forms of pollution including marine litter (one form of which is plastic pollution) and noise,
— put in place nature-based solutions to support adaption, resilience and mitigation to the effects of climate change including through protecting natural blue carbon processes,
— accelerate the transition to a decarbonised society through the deployment of sustainable off-shore renewable energy,
— foster scientific knowledge and support further research on the understanding of the marine environment in order to inform decision-making, and
— strengthen international governance of the ocean, and
accordingly notes the declaration arising from the One Ocean Summit (a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 26th April, 2022), which is an important statement of the shared international responsibility to protect the oceans and the marine environment.