193 nations sign historic agreement to protect the oceans

Ladies and gentlemen, the ship has reached the shore. An emotional moment as the United Nations Treaty to Protect the High Seas is finally agreed. Delegates at the UN Headquarters in New York had worked through the night to push a deal over the line. After more than a decade of failed talks, a hugely significant milestone. This treaty that will lay the groundwork for creating 30% of the ocean into marine sanctuaries that cannot be fished in is so important. Our oceans and the biodiversity within them are critical to keeping the earth in balance, generating nearly half the planet's oxygen, absorbing a quarter of its carbon dioxide, and much of the excess heat it generates. Nearly two thirds of the planet's oceans are actually considered to be international waters outside of the control of individual nations, which means all countries have a right to explore, research and fish there.

Up until now, only 1% of these waters have been protected, but the new UN Treaty promises to put 30% into marine protected areas by the end of 2030, a target known as 30x30. This will help control things like fishing, deep sea mining, shipping and the fair sharing of profitable resources, a key sticking point during the negotiations. Experts are warning though, there's still a lot of work to do. We've got to make sure that it's implemented consistently. So when it's written on paper, an agreed on paper, that's what happens at sea. We've got to again join all this up and make sure that those other management bodies that are managing shipping, deep sea mining and fisheries, adhere to what's said in the high seas treaty. Multilateral agreements involving nearly 200 nations are rarely perfect, but many view them as the only way to make global progress on climate change, a crisis that knows no borders.

In this way, the UN Treaty is a major step forward in protecting a fragile ecosystem that helps to sustain life on Earth. Hannah Thomas-Peter Sky News.

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