Albert of Monaco wades into row on pollution threat to sea life

‘While there is still time, we must do everything we can to avoid irreversible tragedies’

URGENT action is needed to avoid “irreversible tragedies” in the world’s oceans caused by plastic pollution and climate change, Prince Albert II of Monaco said yesterday at a major conference that heard there are already up to 500 “dead zones”.

The prince told the gathering of academics, senior officials and ministers in Edinburgh that the threats facing the oceans were “increasingly alarming” and people must stop believing they can pour “anything and everything” into them without consequences.

His warning was echoed by Peter Thomson, the UN’S Special Envoy for the Ocean, who compared the situation to all the historic architecture in Scotland’s capital being wiped out by a massive earthquake.

He said the world’s oceans were in “deep, deep trouble” and studies had identified between 400 and 500 socalled “dead zones” – areas that do not have enough oxygen to support marine life. This is usually caused by an increase in chemical nutrients, leading to excessive blooms of algae that deplete underwater oxygen levels.

The conference was held at the University of Edinburgh by the Monaco Blue Initiative, a think tank that aims to bring together experts and decision makers to find practical solutions.

It was set up by the prince’s foundation and the Oceanographic Institute.

The prince, who is often referred to as ‘the green prince’ for his efforts to tackle climate change and ocean pollution, used his opening address to warn that swift action was required to reconcile “the needs of man with those of nature” in the face of increasing threats.

He said: “While there is still time, we must do everything we can to avoid irreversible tragedies, tragedies that we can see moving on the horizon when we observe the deterioration of precious, fragile ecosystems, the spread of plastic pollution and the daily disappearance of different plant and animal species.”

Calling for a “respectful” approach to the oceans, he said: “We must stop taking the ocean for granted in believing that it is permanent and we can take from it and pour into it anything and everything without consequences.”

He praised initiatives that have shown a “spirit of collective responsibility”, such as the Paris Agreement, but said this must now be “extended beyond diplomatic and political circles” to business and civil society.

Mr Thomson, a Fijian diplomat, told the conference that the death of coral reefs was an “observable tragedy” in his country.

He said: “It would be akin to somebody from Edinburgh, seeing all these beautiful buildings we’re surrounded by just demolished in an earthquake in one day.”