Seminar “Ocean Science for a Sustainable Blue Economy”
Porto – 24th
of October 2018
Faculty of
Engineering University of Porto
Ana Paula Vitorino
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Opening session speech topics
I would like to thank the organization for the invitation
and I congratulate them for promoting the discussion on the relationship
between ocean science and the sustainable blue economy.
I would also like to thank all the national and
Belgium experts who gathered here today, to discuss and share views on the
global challenges that the Ocean and all of us face today. These challenges are
of the utmost importance and the way we’re dealing with them will surely impact
future generations.
Effectively, the Ocean is at the center of global
challenges and also of the solutions.
The global challenges include the need to reduce
marine litter, reduce emissions, halt biodiversity loss, reduce poverty and
increase food security.
However, the biggest challenge will be to ensure
long-term sustainability by harmonizing the protection of the marine
environment with the promotion of a sustainable economy of the sea.
We all know that ocean economy shows a high potential
for growth in the coming years. This tendency emphasizes the importance of
building a sustainable blue economy. I believe sustainability is the only way of
promoting ocean economy. If we don’t do it sustainably, we will put at risk the
natural capital that sustains the economic activities, and above all that our lifes
in earth.
That is why I’m thrilled to be here today in this
seminar.
By definition we consider that a sustainable blue
economy is a development model that focuses on the conservation and sustainable
use of marine resources, based on the most up-to-date science.
First of all we need to be supported in
scientific evidence that leads us to agree on a common research agenda on ocean
science and innovation for ocean economy.
This will be powerful in the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the United Nations
Agenda 2030.
In fact, Portugal is particularly active
in the «blue diplomacy» frontline for mobilizing collective action towards
concrete measures for achieving Goal 14.
·
Portugal is one of the 12 members of the High-Level Panel for
Sustainable Ocean Economy;
·
Portugal is also a member of the Sustainable Ocean Business Action
Platform of the UN Global Compact; and
·
We have established a total of 14 commitments for a sustainable ocean in
the scope of UN Goal 14 and the platform of the Our Ocean Conference.
This approach will also allow us to
streamline the funding fluxes in the right direction.
Portugal
has a strategic position in the Atlantic and with the extended Portuguese continental
shelf we expect to reach, in terms of maritime dimension, the 9th place in the worldwide
ranking and the 2nd place in the European Union.
Portugal
plays a key role in the European Integrated Maritime Policy and particularly in
what concerns the Strategy for the Atlantic Area.
Next
year we will have the Presidency of the Atlantic Strategy Group of the European
Commission. And the Atlantic Strategy Stakeholder Conference and the European
Maritime Day will be celebrated in Portugal.
Portugal
considers Belgium as a privileged partner given its geographical position that
makes it an important neighbor of this sea basin.
In
fact, the ocean is the cornerstone of our historical relations: 500 years ago,
Antwerp was the main trading post for the Indian spices that were transported
by the Portuguese merchant ships to the European markets.
Given
the relevance of developing a sustainable blue economy, Portugal is already
working with several international partners. In fact, only with cooperative
action will be possible to achieve the goal of promoting the blue economy
growth in a sustainable way. And we count also with Belgium on that.
In this
way, we have 4 lines of action where science meets innovation with the aim of
building a sustainable ocean economy, and where cooperation with Belgium is
more than welcome.
The first one is that Portugal is launching the Atlantic Observatory, which is an
initiative that will place Portugal as one of the key players in marine science
for international cooperation in the Atlantic, making the most out of the
existing biological and geographical diversity of the Portuguese ocean area,
where we can find some of the most thrilling ecosystems on Earth:
·
The deep sea and diversified coast line of continental Portugal, with
cold waters in the north and mild waters in the south;
·
The abyssal plain and sub-tropical waters of Madeira archipelago, with
the unique ecosystem of Selvagens islands; and
·
The ultra-deep and deep sea of the Azores archipelago, with its exotic
ecosystems of hydrothermal vents.
The Atlantic Observatory is aligned with the United Nations Decade of
Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), with a common view to
achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Multidisciplinary and international cooperation is the key to the
success of this enterprise. The Atlantic Observatory will be an advanced
digital ocean information system and an international network of partners that
will bring together scientists, businesses and public service, contributing to:
·
informed, evidence-based policy making; and
·
transfer of knowledge and innovation to the productive sector.
The Atlantic Observatory will also have an economic dimension with the
aim to transfer its knowledge for provoking developments in ocean industries,
like maritime robotics, communications, the internet of things and shipbuilding
industry.
The
second line of action is creating conditions to have a favorable business
environment for blue entrepreneurship, supported in science and innovation. This
were the Port Tech Clusters Strategy comes in.
Port
Tech Clusters focus in using the Portuguese Ports network as platforms for
technological acceleration of advanced sea industries, in order to create
synergies with the shipbuilding industry, to reduce bureaucracy and risk
related to investment in innovation.
The
third line of action is generating sustainable energy from the sea. One of
the main challenges of our generation is to fight against climate change,
rethinking the energy sources mixing in the long term. And renewable ocean
energies have an important role to play.
In
Portugal, the Industrial Strategy for
Ocean Renewable Energies, approved by the Council of Ministers, will
contribute proactively to the European goals.
The
potential is to supply 25% of the Portuguese annual power demand making use of
ocean renewable energies. With this strategy 20% of the current energy import
will be reduced and avoid 8 million tons of CO2 emission per year.
The
deployment of the Windfloat Atlantic project in 2019 at Viana do Castelo will
create the biggest floating offshore wind farm in the world, with 25 MW, being
able of powering 12.500 homes with blue sustainable electricity.
Another
main goal of the Industrial Strategy for
Ocean Renewable Energies is to create a new export industry of sustainable
energy technologies, mainly wave energy and floating offshore wind, using
shipbuilding capacity and other offshore technology knowledge areas.
Green
shipping is the fourth line of action. One
of the main objectives of our Port Competitiveness Strategy 2026 is the
establishment of a service area for supplying ships with LNG in the Portuguese Atlantic
area, focusing in mid and small-scale technologies not only for floating
bunkering, but also for maritime virtual LNG pipelines. We need more science
for achieving better efficiency in these logistics, as well as for new engines
that use LNG in a more sustainable way.
In
this spirit, the Portuguese Government promoted in Lisbon, as you know, the
first Portugal Shipping Week and the Oceans Meeting 2018, a maritime week of
events dedicated to "Blue Circular Economy, Green Shipping and Port Tech
Clusters".
And
it is remarkable that the Ministerial Declaration of the “Oceans Meeting 2018”,
signed by 72 international delegations, has been under the core theme of
“Routing the Future: Blue Circular Economy, Port Tech Clusters and Green
Shipping”.
All
these initiatives need funding support and we have 600M€ for supporting the
blue economy and science ventures:
·
500M€
in Mar2020, for fisheries and aquaculture projects;
·
54M€
in the Blue Fund, until 2020, for financing new businesses and applied science
for the sustainable ocean economy; and
·
45M€
in the EEA Grants mechanism, for also financing blue entrepreneurship, science
and innovation.
Last
but not least, a word about deep sea mining, one the topics of this conference.
The
potential for metallic mineral resources in the Portuguese marine environment
includes zinc, copper, cobalt and others.
In
this area mapping the resources is fundamental, and it is a priority, but also
is a priority study their environmental impacts.
As
you can see in this context we are nowadays talking mainly about science and
knowledge and with a need to promote capacity building of our scientific
community in this theme. That’s why we are giving financial support to this.
Summing up, it is true that the Ocean is an immense
opportunity for a new wave of prosperity, wealth and jobs for mankind.
However, we cannot afford to make the same mistakes
that have been done during the last industrial revolution.
This time is different, because there is no Planet B!
That is why we have to invest in solid science to have
high-quality innovation.
That is why we need to join our talents, set concrete
goals and make the sustainable ocean economy a reality.
Thank you!
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