The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Synthesis Report calls on the EU to slash fishing fleet fuel subsidies to hasten low carbon transition.
IPCC’s latest Synthesis Report (SYR) said that the EU needs to escalate its actions and finalise the elimination of fuel tax subsidies for the fishing industry through the review of the European Taxation Directive this year.
“[The] IPCC report could not be clearer - we must do everything possible to reduce emissions and limit warming to 1.5 degrees before 2030, to avoid losing most of the world’s coral reefs and entire ocean ecosystems that support billions of lives in Europe and around the world,” said Rebecca Hubbard, programme director at NGO, Our Fish.
Firm commitment
Hubbard said that support for the fishing fleet and ocean ecosystems is the perfect place to demonstrate this global commitment, which should include delivering an urgent end to EU fossil fuel subsidies.
This will help with accelerating the transformation to low carbon, electric alternatives and protecting carbon engineers such as fish and the seabed’s carbon storing capabilities from destruction.
“The EU should leverage the climate protecting power of the ocean, which is far cheaper, scalable and manageable than pursuing fossil fuel-funded pipe dreams such as carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide removal in the ocean, which are costly and potentially have massive and unknown impacts,” she said.
AS an NGO, Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others and deploying robust evidence, it also aims to end to overfishing as a critical action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis.
