Collective Action for the Ocean, Highlighting Plastic Pollution

Keynote Speech delivered by
H.E. Rodrigo A. CARAZO, Ambassador
Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations

June 7th 2022, 10 am

The Light Millennium, Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization (LMGlobal.Org -status#501-c-3, 2001, New York), in collaboration with, the Global NGO Executive Committee (GNEC.NGO), jointly presented “A Remarkable Journey to Highlight Plastic Pollution in The Ocean ~ Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean – With Erden Eruç & Distinguished Speakers” titled the 2022 Ocean Day (8 June, A/RES/63/111) virtual panel on Tuesday, June 7, 2022.
The panel highlighted ever-increasing and threatening Plastic Pollution in our Ocean and ecosystem at large.
The session has contributed through various aspects of the 2022 Ocean Day’s theme, “Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean.” In this framework, H.E. Rodrigo A. Carazo, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations delivered a keynote statement from a member state perspective, in particular, focused on Costa Rica. Below is H.E. Carazo’s Talking Points.

Talking Points

• Since 1994, Article 50 of the Costa Rican Constitution has established the right for everyone to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment while making the State responsible for guaranteeing the link of well-being to the production and distribution of wealth. It is one of the main articles of our constitution and has paved the way for our development model today, but it was also the reflection of more than a hundred and fifty years of practices and policies to protect the environment.

• Last year, we celebrated an amendment to Article 50, in which access to drinking water was converted into a human right, once again linking the health of ecosystems and planetary systems to human health and well-being.

• We are working diligently to recover rivers that have become dumps, wastewater reservoirs and risky sources of contamination over the years. This is deeply connected to the health of the ocean, as 80% of marine pollution is land-based and occurs as a result of run-offs, which means through our rivers and estuaries.

• Beach clean-ups and huge ocean clean-up projects are necessary and urgent, but we must also focus on closing the faucet in our cities to stop pollution at its source.

• There is a global emergency facing the ocean. Sea levels are rising, coastal erosion is worsening, and the oceans are becoming warmer and more acidic. Therefore, marine pollution is increasing at an alarming rate, one-third of fish stocks are overexploited, marine biodiversity continues to decline, and about half of all living corals have been lost.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated existing problems through the impact of personal protective equipment and other types of COVID-19 related waste or pollution, including single-use plastics. Furthermore, there have been negative effects on resources as well as the staffing and response capacity of Ministries of Environment and national entities which are charged with ensuring the protection and conservation of oceans and coastal areas. These entities possessed limited budgets and dwindling resources that had to be diverted to address the necessary health and economic emergencies of the pandemic.

• Therefore, we must look at it also as an opportunity for a green and blue recovery process. In a few weeks, the members of the United Nations will meet in Lisbon for the Oceans Conference to discuss SDG14 as a whole, with pollution as a key item on the Agenda. In the Political Declaration recently agreed upon at the United Nations, we agreed to prevent and reduce marine pollution of all kinds, from both land- and sea-based sources as well as from the maritime sector, using comprehensive life-cycle and source-to-sea approaches as well as waste management;

• This political declaration also calls to prevent, reduce, and eliminate marine plastic debris, including single-use plastics and microplastics. It also looks to promote resource efficiency, recycling, the ensuring of sustainable consumption and production patterns, innovation in product design, and remediation of marine plastic debris already present in the marine environment.

• Most importantly, the declaration highlights the recent establishment by UNEA of an intergovernmental negotiating committee towards a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, based on a comprehensive approach that will address the entire life cycle of plastics.

• Costa Rica welcomes the decision and we commit to actively engaging in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee with the aim of completing the work by the end of 2024.

• We also want to highlight the importance of increasing the protection and conservation of the global ocean and the work of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and the Global Ocean Alliance, which have gathered commitments from over 100 states to protect at least 30% of marine areas. This is an example of practical and science-based measures that are key for restoration of marine ecosystems and to meet SDG14.

• Finally, as ocean health is interconnected, we would also like to note the urgency of greater engagement in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible and in 2022, for the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction process that would regulate that part of sea life.

• The work ahead of us is historic and monumental, but there is a great momentum forward that we must take advantage of to save our ocean and our planet.

• Thank you.

H.E. Mr. RODRIGO A. CARAZO, Brief Remarks 
H.E. Mr. Carazo, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York; and currently President of UNICEF’s Executive Board. Professional development in the public sector includes: first Ombudsman of the Republic of Costa Rica (1993-1997); Member of the Legislative Assembly (2002-2006). Professional development in the private sector includes: being a liberal
professional since 1971 in the fields of Economy, Law and International Relations. He has also served as a consultant for International Organizations (Government, Intergovernmental, Non-Governmental) as well as for private entities. He has 48 years of experience as a businessman in commercial, industrial, tourist, agricultural and service sectors. Academic background includes: serving as a university
professor in Costa Rica and the United States; Member of the Board of the public Distance University in Costa Rica; he holds a Law Degree from the University of Costa Rica and a similar degree in Economic and Social Sciences from the University of Costa Rica, a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Geneva- Switzerland and has completed further studies in History and International Law. He speaks Spanish, English and French. Ambassador Carazo is 74 years
old, married, father of 4 daughters and grandfather of 11 grandchildren.

– Special Thanks to Drew Smith.

 Description-Concept & A Few Key Points