GENEVA — After two weeks of intense negotiations, environmental ministers and heads of state from 65 nations signed the Geneva Ocean and Clean Grid Protocol, marking the most ambitious international environmental compact since the Paris Agreement.
Summit Highlights
Global Accord
Global Accord
- Establishes legally binding protections for 30% of international waters by 2030.
- Creates a $120 billion multilateral green infrastructure fund for developing coastal economies.
- Authorizes high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine interconnectors linking renewable zones across continents.
Protecting the Planet’s Life-Support Systems
The treaty imposes strict moratoriums on deep-seabed mineral extraction in ecologically sensitive hydrothermal vent zones while creating standardized international monitoring fleets equipped with autonomous marine sensors and satellite telemetry.
“For the first time in history, the high seas will be treated not as an ungoverned frontier, but as a shared planetary commons requiring rigorous stewardship,” said UN Under-Secretary for Environmental Affairs Amara Diallo.