Greenpeace warns of 265-year delay in protecting the ocean
A new report warns that the goal of protecting 30 per cent of the ocean will not be met by 2030.
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Greenpeace estimates that the current pace of ocean protection is insufficient to meet the international target of protecting 30 per cent by 2030. According to the environmental organisation, the current pace risks a 265-year delay in reaching that goal.
The report was published on Monday at the start of the UN biodiversity conference CBD COP17 in Armenia. Greenpeace analysed progress on marine protected areas and says countries must designate areas on the high seas much more quickly.
The target is part of global agreements to protect at least 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030. For the ocean, this is more complicated than for national territory, because large areas fall outside national jurisdiction. The UN Ocean Treaty is intended to enable cooperation on the high seas.
Greenpeace is calling not only for more protected areas, but for a coherent network. According to the organisation, isolated zones are insufficient to protect migratory species and connected ecosystems. The proposed areas should include, among others, the Atlantic Ocean.
The report says that industrial fishing vessels are estimated to have fished for 1.6 million hours in the Atlantic Ocean in 2025. That figure is a Greenpeace calculation, not an official global dataset. The organisation uses it to illustrate the tension between protection and economic activities at sea.
The 265-year delay is a Greenpeace estimate based on the current pace. The result mainly indicates that, according to Greenpeace, progress is far behind the 2030 deadline.
The conference in Armenia is intended to bring countries together on biodiversity policy. On Monday, it was still unclear whether it would produce concrete decisions on new marine reserves. The discussion also concerns fishing, shipping, deep-sea mining and the international allocation of monitoring costs.
Also show the region and a close-up
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The international target is to protect at least 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030.
- Greenpeace calculates that the current pace is insufficient.
- The 265-year period is an extrapolation, not a definite prediction.
Left
Arguments The figures show that voluntary progress is falling short. Countries must establish protected areas more quickly, restrict economic activities on the high seas and share the costs of monitoring.
Values Ecological limits, international solidarity and the protection of vulnerable species.
Consequences Stricter protection may restrict fishing and shipping, but according to this view it prevents greater damage and costs in the long term.
Centre
Arguments The target remains important, but protection must be legally enforceable and scientifically grounded. A network of areas can be expanded with clear rules, monitoring and transition periods.
Values Effectiveness, international cooperation and administrative feasibility.
Consequences A phased approach can preserve support, but risks moving too slowly if deadlines are not made binding.
Right
Arguments Protection must go hand in hand with food security, trade and national economic interests. International rules must not result in unclear restrictions for fishers and companies without fair compensation.
Values Property, economic freedom, national responsibility and proportionality.
Consequences A more cautious approach avoids abrupt economic damage, but according to critics may allow ecological decline to continue.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core claim has been confirmed by Greenpeace and an independent Swiss publication. The text makes clear that the main figures are Greenpeace estimates and extrapolations.
- confirmed Greenpeace says that the current pace will result in a 265-year delay in meeting the 30-per-cent target. — Reported in the Greenpeace report and by SWI swissinfo.ch. source
- confirmed CBD COP17 began on Monday in Armenia. — Mentioned in Greenpeace’s publication. source
- confirmed Industrial fishing vessels are estimated to have fished for 1.6 million hours in the Atlantic Ocean in 2025. — Figure from the Greenpeace report; the source status is explicitly stated to be an estimate. source
Editor's note
The figures of 265 years and 1.6 million fishing hours come from a Greenpeace report and are estimates. They are not presented as independent measurements; the independent source mainly confirms the report’s content and date.Sources
- Netwerk van zeereservaten in de Atlantische Oceaan nodig — Greenpeace Nederland
- Marine conservation target will take 265 years — SWI swissinfo.ch
- Het VN-Oceaanverdrag — Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „oceaan biodiversiteit”
- De Telegraaf — „oceaan biodiversiteit”
- Trouw — „oceaan biodiversiteit”