By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY, Australia | 9 June 2026 (IDN) — At the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) in New Delhi late May, a grand “aid” scheme to develop ports in the South Pacific was announced, starting with the Fiji Islands. As QUAD looks for relevance in an environment in Asia […]
Perfect Peace in Antarctica
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 19 November 2025 (WorldView) — In 1772, sailing to the far south, Captain James Cook deflated the prevailing myth of Antarctica, that it was a temperate land, fertile and populated. Although he never landed on the continent, he saw the vast icebergs, the frozen sea and the “worst weather […]
A Law of the Sea?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 11 June 2025 (IDN) — David Attenborough said in his wondrous new documentary film, “Ocean”, it had taken him a long time in his 99 years of life to understand that for the survival of our planet the oceans are more important than the land. This week as we […]
Global Ocean Treaty Two Years On: A Chance for International Cooperation
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS | 3 March 2025 (IDN) — Greenpeace deems the second anniversary of the Global Ocean Treaty being agreed on March 4 “a victory for multilateralism and a chance to protect the ocean worldwide”. Bringing it to life as soon as possible is the only way to keep the 30×30 ocean target […]
Navigating a Low-Carbon Future: Maritime Decarbonisation on the 2025 Global Agenda
By Pascal Lamy and Geneviève Pons* BRUSSELS | 15 February 2025 (IDN) — Ten years ago, at COP21 the Paris Agreement was adopted as a global response to the threat of climate change, aiming at limiting the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In the same year, world leaders also committed to thriving the […]
European Companies Feed the Dangerous Global Shadow Fleet
By Nathaniel Peutherer* LONDON | 9 February 2025 (IDN) — On 19 July 2024, the oil tanker Hafnia Nile was nearing its top speed when it collided with the supertanker Ceres I, off the east coast of Malaysia. Within minutes, flames engulfed both vessels, sending thick plumes of toxic smoke into the air. Several crew […]
Greenpeace Urges Poland to Seek EU Ratification of the UN Ocean Treaty
GDAŃSK, Poland | 8 February 2025 (IDN) — “Ratify Ocean Treaty” and “Ocean Treaty now!” were the messages Greenpeace Poland activists projected calling for ocean protection onto the iconic European Solidarity Centre building in the heart of the Gdańsk shipyard ahead of a high-level meeting between the Polish EU presidency and a delegation of European […]
All Eyes on Busan: Will World Leaders Deliver an Ambitious Global Plastics Treaty?
By Hellen Kahaso Dena* The final round of negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty (25 November-1 December) is underway in Busan, South Korea. Delegates from over 175 nations have gathered to craft a legally binding agreement on the life cycle of plastics. NAIROBI, Kenya | 22 November 2024 (IDN) — Africa is drowning in plastics, […]
Ocean Climate Crisis: Acidification, Deoxygenation and Warming
By Dr. Kirsten Isensee, Dr. Katherina School, Professor Steve Widdicombe and Jeremy Sterling* PARIS | 11 November 2024 (IDN) — Governments meeting in Baku for the COP29 Climate Summit have many mountains to climb in their quest to raise ambitions and accelerate action. They must not, however, forget about the ocean. Because the blue part […]
Strengthening Tsunami Preparedness in a Changing Climate
By Sanjay Srivastava, Temily Baker and Nawarat Perawattanasakul* BANGKOK, Thailand | 4 November 2024 (IDN) — This year’s World Tsunami Awareness Day (5 November) presents a moment of reflection 20 years on from the catastrophic Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. The tsunami resulted in 225,000 fatalities across 14 countries and emphasized the urgent need for […]