Ségolène Royal is traveling to Monaco this Monday, April 3, to sign the Headquarters Agreement of the Pelagos Agreement concerning the creation of a Sanctuary for marine mammals in the Mediterranean.
The Minister of the Environment will also participate in the 8th edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative, with Prince Albert II of Monaco.
On the occasion of this trip, Ségolène Royal announces the first step in the creation of a “low emission zones for ships in the Mediterranean.” The study that will be conducted by INERIS with various scientific partners is the necessary prerequisite for establishing such a zone in the Mediterranean.
Air pollution represents a major health issue. Ships contribute to this pollution by emitting sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and fine particles. The regulations applied to ships have reduced emissions in recent years, but further progress can be made. During the International Maritime Organization meeting in the fall of 2016, France supported the decision to reduce the sulfur content of marine fuels to 0.5% in 2020 worldwide, compared to 3.5% today.
The Pelagos Sanctuary is a maritime space of 87,500 km² that is the subject of an Agreement between Italy, Monaco, and France for the protection of the marine mammals that frequent it. A rough estimate counts more than 8,500 macroscopic animal species representing between 4% and 18% of the world’s marine species, a remarkable biodiversity, particularly concerning the number of top predators of the trophic chain like marine mammals, given that the Mediterranean represents only 0.82% of the world’s ocean surface and 0.32% of its volume.
