4 billion euros in three years from a pool of banks and financial institutions to protect the oceans. An investment like this had never been seen since the United Nations in 2009 launched the appeal for the health of the oceans, dedicating 9 June to it. The oceans are an invaluable source of benefits for the planet and for people, they give food, they are a source of renewable energy and natural resources, they maintain the ecosystem. To make them clean, in the frame of theOne ocean Summit in Brest in France, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), European Investment Bank (EIB,) German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), National Promotional Institute (IPO), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Spanish National Promotional Bank have pledged to double the goal of the Clean Oceans Initiative. In place of the 2 billion expenditure expected by 2023 we move on to 4 with even more intense work. The Sick Oceans program globally affects more than 20 million people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. The projects are structured around improved wastewater treatment in Sri Lanka, China, Egypt and South Africa, solid waste management in Togo and Senegal, and stormwater management and flood protection in Benin, Morocco and Ecuador. Structural problems and weather events due to two main causes: underdevelopment and climate change. Human behavior – “criminal” – as he defined them is another matter Pope Francis.
The green commitment of Cdp
Credit institutions are therefore engaged on the most important investment platform dedicated to water protection. And there are already noticeable results such as 80% of the cleanup target in three years with 1,6 billion euros of long-term funding. All based on projects from both the public and private sectors. For the Chief Executive Officer of CDP Dario Scannapieco “ the protection of the environment and natural resources is a goal for CDP and is one of the priorities of the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan. In this phase of recovery and exit from the pandemic, we confirm once again our commitment to achieving the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda". On the other hand, the Institute is committed to aligning activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement by the end of 2022. To this end, it wants to bring the share of its green investments to over 50% of the total by 2025. At the European level, the entry into the EBRD pool as an important new member should be appreciated. The President of the EBRD Odile Renaud-Bassoha on his own he explained that the bank's activities are aimed at improving the environmental impact of municipal infrastructures, maritime transport, the real estate sector and tourism.
Eight million tons of waste
More than eight million tons of plastic debris end up in the oceans every year, impacting river estuaries, coral reefs and coasts. There are also the responsibilities of large industries that illegally dump waste of all kinds into the sea. It is being talked about in international forums but complicated circuits and illicit deals in "little vigilant" countries are evidence of an infinite alarm. In the world there are almost no more thousands of families whose subsistence is linked to the sea, reduced to semi-poverty. If many developing countries were equipped with better sewage and rainwater treatment plants, it would be possible to avoid the introduction of about 1,5 million tons of microplastics every year in the oceans. This new mobilization, not only financial, but planning, has arisen from Brest for sick oceans. Billions of people exposed to unprecedented risks, all generated by human activities irreconcilable with the battles for the health of the planet.
