"UNITED NATIONS — The 193 U.N. member nations issued an urgent call for action Friday to reverse the decline in the health and productivity of the world’s oceans — with the United States backing the action plan but rejecting its support for the Paris agreement to tackle climate change.
Ministers and diplomats burst into applause as the final document was gaveled to approval by consensus at the end of the first-ever U.N. conference on oceans.
It recognizes the critical importance of the world’s seas to the future of the planet: Covering three-quarter of the Earth, they supply nearly half the oxygen that we breathe, absorb over a quarter of the carbon dioxide we produce, provide food, and play key roles in water cycles and the climate system."
Edith M. Lederer reports for the Associated Press June 9, 2017.
"193 Nations Urge Action To Protect Oceans -- with US Protest"
Source: AP, 06/12/2017
