The creation of a new initiative that aims to support the transition to a sustainable blue economy in the European Union’s Southern Neighbourhood countries in the Mediterranean region has been announced at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Blue Mediterranean Partnership was launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
It is these organisations’ response to the commitments made at EU level to fully integrate the blue economy into the Green Deal, the priorities outlined in the EU’s new Agenda for the Mediterranean, the Union for the Mediterranean ministerial declaration on sustainable blue economy and the UFM blue economy agenda as well as to the environmental challenges faced by the Mediterranean region.
This partnership, which will be accompanied by a new financial vehicle to accelerate investment in the blue economy for the Mediterranean, has received a wide political support, including from the European Commission.
“The European Commission is fully committed to promoting a sustainable blue economy in the EU and its sea basins. The Blue Med Partnership will strive to deliver support to our Mediterranean neighbours by developing their blue economy sectors and activities sustainably. I am extremely pleased to see the various partners work together in a common effort to protect our oceans and seas,” EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said.
The partnership aims to bring together international donors, beneficiary countries, interested financial institutions and philanthropies to support policy reforms, attract donor funding and mobilise public and private financing for projects initially in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.
“We are raising the bar on our collective ambitions of governments, civil society, research and the private sectors to ensure that maritime activities are sustainable, innovative and job-creation oriented and address the main challenges of our times,” UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel said.
The Mediterranean Sea basin is a recognised marine biodiversity hotspot and a vital resource of economic activities for 480 million people living in the region’s 22 countries. It is the fifth largest economy in the region after France, Italy, Spain and Turkey, generating an annual economic value of more than US$ 450 billion. However, the Mediterranean Sea’s ecosystem is under threat from habitat loss and degradation, over-fishing, pollution and climate change.
Commenting, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said, “The Mediterranean has been the cradle in which our societies have been born and flourished. It is source of life, wealth and prosperity, therefore its protection is of major relevance to all of us. This Blue Mediterranean Partnership is a call for action from our partner countries and the European Commission. Sustainable development and environmental protection are at the core of the EBRD’s mandate, and we have experience in delivering impact through environmental partnerships. We look forward to joining forces to clean and preserve the mare nostrum, our sea”.
The Blue Mediterranean partnership will promote the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Principles (SBEFP), which is a global guiding framework aligning investments with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 14 ‘life below water’. It intends to help close an estimated €6 billion investment gap in the next eight years.
