Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




WATER WORLD
EU lays out 'blue economy' agenda
by Staff Writers
Limassol, Cyprus (UPI) Oct 10, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

The European Union this week adopted a new "blue economy" agenda aimed at creating jobs in ocean renewable energy and other maritime sectors.

The European Commission and council of European maritime policy ministers Monday approved an update of the 5-year-old Integrated Maritime Policy that lays out an aggressive economic growth agenda aimed at tapping Europe's sea and ocean resources.

A coalition of environmental groups, however, said the focus on economic development in the agenda -- dubbed the "Limassol Declaration" -- could result in ecological damage to the oceans.

EU President Jose Manuel Barroso, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and EU Maritime Commissioner Maria Damanaki presented the declaration in the Cypriot maritime capital Limassol.

"We need to embrace the maritime potential of Europe and we need to do it with confidence and with a dynamic agenda," Barroso said.

EU members, he asserted, can leverage their "unique maritime experience and resources" into hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the marine renewable energy, aquaculture, "blue" biotechnology, coastal tourism and seabed mining sectors.

The blue economy could play a major role in helping Europe recover from financial and economic crises it is facing, Barroso said, citing expansion the shipping and cruise tourism sectors as examples.

"The overall employment in the European maritime economic activities is expected to go from 5.4 (million) to 7 million by 2020," he said. "The cruise sector alone may grow by 60 percent."

Meanwhile, offshore wind energy is expected to grow 30 percent by 2020 with a tenfold growth in tidal and wave energy expected.

"These are staggering figures, and opportunities, that Europe cannot afford to miss," he said.

The Cyprus EU presidency played a major role in crafting the agenda, calling it a "milestone" for the Integrated Maritime Policy.

Cyprus Minister of Communications and Works Efthemios Flourentzou predicted the blue economy effort will aid "Europe's economic recovery, sustainable growth and social cohesion," the Famagusta Gazette reported.

However, while environmentalists generally praised the Limassol Declaration, they voiced concern over its focus on economic development.

A group of 19 environmental non-government organizations, led by Seas at Risk and Oceana, issued a statement saying that while it contains good intentions, it could lead to development at the expense of the environment.

"The declaration seems to be very much inspired by the aim of growth but we need sustainable economic activity that meets the needs of current and future generations," the statement said.

"We are afraid that a large amount of EU funding will be used to boost not only the traditional, polluting marine industries (transport and oil operations) but also 'young' industries, such as aquaculture and the exploitation of underwater mining resources, whose impact is still unknown."

An unnamed expert from the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions think tank told Europolitics the declaration, while a step forward, is "overly influenced by the maritime industrial lobbies."

The source said it was "too oriented toward growth without any real emphasis on the social aspect, or on maritime safety," while laying the blame for that on the Cyprus presidency.

.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WATER WORLD
Australia scientists tackle reef-killing starfish
Sydney (AFP) Oct 8, 2012
An Australian research team said Monday they have found an effective way to kill the destructive crown-of-thorns starfish, which is devastating coral reefs across the Pacific and Indian oceans. The discovery by James Cook University's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Queensland state comes after a study showed the Great Barrier Reef had lost more than half its coral cover in th ... read more


WATER WORLD
Planning can cut costs of disasters: World Bank

12 Chinese workers killed, 24 hurt in dormitory blaze

Far, far beyond wrist radios

World leaders meet on disaster management in Japan

WATER WORLD
Court delays Australian miner's Malaysia plant

Making computer data storage cheaper and easier

Architect shares simple green architecture improvements for homes and offices

An operating system in the cloud

WATER WORLD
Freezing water droplets form sharp ice peaks

EU lays out 'blue economy' agenda

River Thames invaded with foreign species

Southern Hemisphere becoming drier

WATER WORLD
DRI scientist co-authors study outlining vast differences in polar ocean microbial communities

ESA satellites looking deeper into sea ice

Russian boy discovers 'woolly mammoth of the century'

Life found in lake frozen for centuries

WATER WORLD
Contracts for Community Support Agriculture clarify expectations for producers and consumers

Delaying harvest of fodder maize results in a higher starch concentration and lower methane emission

Rearing Technique May Bolster Biocontrol Wasp's Commercial Prospects

Stanford researchers show oil palm plantations are clearing carbon-rich tropical forests in Borneo

WATER WORLD
Floods kill 7 in Russian Caucasus: official

NASA's HS3 Mission Thoroughly Investigates Long-Lived Hurricane Nadine

Japan tsunami gives lessons on disaster management

Nigerian president pledges $110 million to floods victims

WATER WORLD
Amnesty International calls on DRCongo to halt clashes in east

Nigerian army denies rampage, killing civilians after attack

Nigeria military shoots dead several people after blast: witnesses

Ivory Coast to reopen Ghana border on Monday: defence minister

WATER WORLD
New human neurons from adult cells right there in the brain

Dating encounters between modern humans and Neandertals

Last speaker of 'fisherfolk' dialect dies

Compelling evidence that brain parts evolve independently




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement