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EU to spend 3.5 bln euros to protect the ocean, environment chief states

The European Union will invest 3.5 billion euros ($ 3.71 billion) to secure the ocean and promote sustainability through a series of efforts this year, the EU's leading environment official stated on Tuesday.

The 40 commitments vary from battling marine contamination to supporting sustainable fisheries and financial investments in the so-called blue economy - sustainable usage of marine and freshwater resources for financial activity.

The commitments were announced during the annual Our Ocean conference kept in Athens today and participated in by about 120 nations.

The ocean belongs to who we are, and it is our shared obligation, stated EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius.

The commitments consist of supporting 14 financial investments and one reform in sustainable fisheries in Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Portugal worth about 1.9 billion euros, and 980 million euros under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to be utilized in Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy and Spain's to support 4 investments and two reforms to eliminate marine pollution.

Other efforts are directed to assisting African countries establish their blue economy.

More than 400 new dedications amounting to $10 billion will be announced during the conference, a Greek government authorities informed on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Modification Service said last month that ocean temperatures struck a record high in February, according to data that returns to 1979. Overfishing and plastic contamination are likewise major hazards to oceans.

The conference has mobilised more than 2,160 dedications worth approximately $130 billion given that its launch in 2014.