Europe pledges €1 bn for ocean protection

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announces during the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice that Europe will invest €1 billion in 50 global ocean-related projects.

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President said "We will strive to cut plastic and nutrient pollution by half within five years. This can be reached. We should make this effort, my friends. We will restore natural habitats and shelter our coasts more effectively from the impact of climate change. Our goal is to bring 20 percent of Europe's marine ecosystems back to life by 2030."

World leaders on Monday called for strict rules to govern deep-sea mining and warned against racing to exploit the ocean floor. The number of countries opposed to seabed mining rose to 36 on Monday, according to a tally kept by the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella group of non-governmental organizations.