The Summit of the Seas
- By Richard Branson -
- Jun 18, 2012
We are on our way to Rio+20, which is being billed as the ‘Summit of the Seas’. We certainly hope this is the case, as part of my time in Brazil will be spent working as part of the OceanElders.
The OceanElders have been lobbying governments behind the scenes to introduce laws to protect the oceans. Today, four of us (Ted Turner, Queen Noor, Dr Silvia Earle and myself) are going to Rio to focus on getting governments to come together to ensure the protection of our high seas.
We’ll also be raising awareness of the importance of our wonderful oceans that deliver 50% of our oxygen. Later in the week, I’ll be supporting a fantastic new campaign that Greenpeace is launching to ensure that we have a sanctuary in the Arctic.
There are expectations that the summit will conclude with a commitment to regulate the exploitation of high seas natural resources, as this excellent article at oceansinc.org explains.
The United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea is desperately in need of updating in order to ensure a new commitment to protecting the oceans is agreed to by countries around the world. We will be working hard at Rio+20 to make sure this happens.
What do you want to see achieved at Rio+20?
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
