Int’l cps- brag lab- wave 1 Theory

Only the US can solve for ocean policy, the EU fails

I am new to the politics of ocean conservation in the USA. I am usually based in the Netherlands, where I work for Greenpeace International. Working in Europe, I have had the ample displeasure of witnessing first hand how international bodies like the UN, regional fisheries management organizations, or the European Union go about failing to protect our oceans and the animals that live in them.¶ It’s not like the science is in dispute. Close to 80 percent of global fish stocks are in a poor state as a direct result of over-fishing. Add to that pollution, deep-seabed mining, ocean acidification, and climate change — it is time to give our oceans a break. To recover, replenish, build resilience, and ensure bounty from our oceans for future generations, we need to establish ocean sanctuaries.¶ The USA is perceived to be a global leader when it comes to managing and protecting ocean resources. Not long ago, I was in Tasmania, Australia for the annual international meeting to conserve marine life in Antarctica. Acting like a leader, the US proactively pushed for the protection of the Ross Sea.

The EU shouldn't do the plan, history of ineffective policies that backfire

Mearns 13 (Euan Mearns, Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Aberdeen, “The Failure of Kyoto and the Futility of European Energy Policy,” 11/4/13, http://euanmearns.com/the-failure-of-kyoto-and-the-futility-of-european-energy-policy/)

In the same period, since 1997, Global average temperatures have risen by <0.1˚C (based on Hadcrut4 data) despite cumulative emissions of 460 Gt CO2 being added to the atmosphere (Figure 2). In the period 1997 to 2012 there is absolutely no evidence from the atmospheric temperature record that global warming or climate change are linked to CO2 emissions*.¶ European Union (EU) and UK energy policies aimed at reducing CO2 emissions have failed to make any impact at the Global level. These same policies have succeeded in pushing up electricity prices, making EU economies less competitive and in spreading energy poverty amongst the poorer people of Europe.

EU control causes over fishing and exploits developing countries

Brittin ‘13 (Rachel, communications officer for Pew Environment Group. "EU Subsidies Favor Industry, Promote Overfishing Abroad" November 27, 2013. The Pew Charitable Trust, http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2013/11/27/eu-subsidies-favor-industry-promote-overfishing-abroad // M.O.)

The European Union, or EU, pays 75 percent of the access fees for European vessels to fish in the waters of developing countries in Africa and the South Pacific, according to a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia. Industry pays the remaining 25 percent, but that represents only about 2 percent of the revenue it receives from selling the catch. The EU subsidies provide strong incentives for overfishing, according to the study, published November 27, 2013 in the journal PLOS ONE. “Frequently, subsidies cover the cost of fuel or equipment, but in this case, the government covers a large part of the access fees as well,” says Frédéric Le Manach, lead author of the study and a fisheries expert with the Sea Around Us Project at the UBC Fisheries Centre in Vancouver. “Since the fishing fleets don't pay the full cost of access, greater profit allows for spending on more efficient vessels. This may lead to over-exploitation of the developing countries' tuna populations and other already vulnerable marine resources.” In the study, supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the UBC researchers analyzed agreements the EU made with developing countries to access their waters between 1980 and 2012. These agreements include fees that range from roughly €400,000 to €230 million per year per country (about US$470,000 to US$305 million at today's exchange rates). The text of the agreements shows that the EU government paid a total of about €5 billion toward the access fees during this period. To compare the industry's fee to its revenues from fishing, the researchers used data from the agreements and a database of global fish prices. Such calculations were possible only for agreements relating to tuna because other agreements did not consistently include the catch level available to EU vessels. The study found that the fishing industry paid about one-fourth the cost of access. Assuming that ratio holds for all agreements, this equates to about €1.7 billion over the 33-year period. But revenue from fishing in these waters totaled about €96 billion, so the fees paid by the industry amounted to only about 2 percent of its revenue (1.5 percent for tuna and 3.2 percent for other species). “The EU has the potential to lead the world in sustainable fisheries,” says Daniel Pauly, principal investigator with the Sea Around Us Project and a study co-author. “But as they stand now, these access agreements are being subsidized in ways that disadvantage developing countries and contradict the EU's own development goals by forcing their citizens to essentially pay twice for the fish they're taking off of the plates of developing countries.” The authors recommend that host countries learn from Pacific nations that recently began to charge higher fees for access to their waters—up to 50 percent more than the world average in the case of the island nation of Kiribati. They also note that a senior representative of the French tuna fleet recently acknowledged that the fees paid by the industry are low and that it would be reasonable to set them at up to 7 percent of the value of fish landed.

EU fails in environmental policy – can’t solve

Watt 06, Nicholas Watt, 2/20/06, Watt is a staff writer for The Guardian, “Species in decline as Europe fails to meet biodiversity targets,” http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2006/feb/21/conservationandendangeredspecies.internationalnews , NN

Europe's urban sprawl increased by an area three times the size of Luxembourg in the 1990s, highlighting the continent's failure to protect the environment, a report warned yesterday. Experts at a biodiversity conference in Croatia this week will be told Europe is performing poorly in eight of nine biodiversity targets set in Kiev in 2003. "It is clear that achieving the 2010 biodiversity target in Europe requires not only a redoubling of efforts ... but a firm commitment by the parties to act," it says. The report, by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Council of Europe, says there are 800,000 hectares (2m acres) of built-up areas on the continent. The impact of urban areas on the environment is highlighted by the example of London, whose "ecological footprint" - the standard measure of environmental impact - is two times the size of Britain. "Humanity continues to use resources at an unsustainable level," the report says, warning that Europe's failure to protect the environment is threatening wildlife species. The numbers of Iberian Lynx and British moths are said to be declining at an alarming rate. The protection of species, both those classified as under threat and others selected at random, is one of the targets that Europe is failing to meet. The UNEP highlighted a report by Butterfly Conservation yesterday, which showed that the number of large moths in Britain had decreased by 32% since 1968. The moth population in Scotland has increased slightly in the same period. Species traditionally found in Scotland have declined as rapidly as those found in England. But overall numbers in Scotland have stabilised because English moths have headed north, probably because of global warming. Sir David Attenborough described the report as "significant and worrying". "Moths are valuable indicators of what is happening in our countryside," he said. "Other insects are almost certainly in decline as well." Michael Williams of the UNEP said the moth report was a perfect illustration of ecological damage. "Even at the level of moths, species are in trouble. It is pretty amazing," he said. He also warned of a threat to Iberian Lynx. A recent UNEP report said only about 1,200 lynx were left in south and western Spain after the widespread clearance of marquis vegetation in the 1940s and the rapid economic development of the country over the past 30 years. On the plus side, the report says that 30% of Europe's land area is still covered by forests, including 17% in 18,000 nature sites. "There has been a significant increase in coverage of protected areas over the past decade, although efforts are needed to increase protected area coverage in marine ecosystems," it says. Jeff McNeely, the chief scientist at the World Conservation Union, told Reuters: "Europe is probably doing better than most continents in protecting diversity but is not yet doing enough."

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