BY ADAKU WALTER
The European Investment Bank (EIB), Agence Française de Dévelopment (AFD) and KfW, acting on behalf of the German Federal Government have increased the Clean Oceans Initiative financial target to €4 billion (or $4.6 billion).
The firms committed to double the financial target of the Clean Oceans Initiative, which aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste in oceans to €4 billion by the end of 2025, instead of the €2 billion (around $2.28 billion) initially expected to be reached by 2023.
The financial institutions made the commitment with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the Italian National Promotional Institution and Financial Institution for Development Cooperation and ICO, the Spanish Promotional Bank on February 11, 2022 at the One Ocean Summit held in Brest, France.
In addition to doubling the target, the Clean Oceans Initiative also welcomed the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as a new member.
President of EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, said the firm is delighted to join this important initiative for the future of oceans and the planet.
He said the EBRD’s robust commitment to green investments and track-record in fighting environmental degradation in marine ecosystems, such as the Baltic, Black, Mediterranean and Red Seas, make it ideal partners to push this agenda forward.
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“Our operations in greener municipal infrastructure, maritime transport, as well as property and tourism will make a real difference in reducing ocean waste and, in particular, plastics,” he said.
Known as the largest common initiative dedicated to funding projects aimed at reducing plastic pollution at sea, the initiative reports achievement of 80 per cent of its target in three years by providing €1.6 billion (or $1.82 billion) long-term financing for public and private sector projects that reduce the discharge of plastics, micro-plastics and other wastes to the oceans through improved management of solid wastes, wastewater and storm water.
It was highlighted that the projects signed so far under the initiative will benefit more than 20 million people living in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Examples are the improved wastewater treatment in Sri Lanka, China, Egypt and South Africa, solid waste management in Togo and Senegal and storm water management and flood protection in Benin, Morocco and Ecuador.
President of EIB, Werner Hoyer, said while clean oceans are essential for a sustainable planet, the success of the Clean Oceans Initiative would be realistic with the EBRD as the new partner in the pursuit of the bank’s ambition.
He said the cooperation was crucial to tackling global challenges and a great example of the value that EIB Global, its dedicated arm for global partnerships, can bring.
Meanwhile, in line with protecting the environment, during the One Ocean Summit, the French shipping major CMA CGM announced that it would no longer be transporting any plastic waste aboard its ships.
With the decision set to become effective June 1, 2022, the company would no longer transport plastic waste onboard its ships, thus preventing such wastes from being exported to destinations where sorting, recycling or recovery could not be assured.
