Second Blue Economy Summit in Abu Dhabi
Tue, 12 January 2016 | Blue Economy
The Second Blue Economy Summit will be held on the 19th of January 2016 under the theme ‘’One Ocean, One Future,’’ as part of the 2016 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
The Summit is to be co-chaired by President James A Michel. The Sustainability Week is an annual platform to address the interconnected challenges impacting the widespread adoption of renewable energy and the acceleration of sustainable development. President Michel leaves Seychelles on 17th January.
He will be accompanied by the Minister of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy, Mr. Jean- Paul Adam; the Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Mr. Didier Dogley; and other high-level government officials. It will be recalled that with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Seychelles held its 1st Blue Economy Conference in January 2014.
The Second Blue Economy Summit is yet again being organised by the governments of Seychelles and the United Arab Emirates, and this time in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission of UNESCO. The keynote address to the Summit will be delivered by President Michel. The Summit will be attended by President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson of Iceland, President Tommy Remengesau of Palau, high-level country, international agency and civil society representatives.
It will seek to build upon the platform provided by the first such Summit in 2014 and will discuss how to develop and apply the Blue Economy approach to support the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 on Oceans and its related targets.
It is to be noted that the Blue Economy is supportive of several of the 2030 sustainable development goals but relates particularly to Goal 14 ‘’Conserve and sustainably use the Oceans, Seas and marine resources for sustainable development’’ which in turn provides a mandate for the Blue Economy paradigm. In this respect, Seychelles will have the opportunity to highlight the innovative financing solutions it has developed, notably the landmark debt deal, contributing to its climate adaptation and marine conservation activities as well as its latest initiative for the proposed issue of ten-year “blue’’ bonds guaranteed by government and supported by international institutions, for the implementation of a new transformative management plan for the country’s demersal fisheries.
The Summit is expected to conclude with a declaration that would support the implementation of the Blue Economy concept with an enrichment of relevant national and international initiatives for concrete deliverables. By co-hosting once again this important event, the Government of Seychelles reaffirms the importance of the Blue Economy as a key element of the country’s long-term development vision and of its foreign policy, and recognizing at the same time that the Oceans have a major role to play in humanity’s future.