Team Malizia partners with The Ocean and Us to protect the high seas
by Team Malizia 27 Jun 2024 17:23 BST
Team Malizia spreads its A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now! message as it sails on the High Seas © Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia
The non-profit organisation The Ocean and Us has partnered with the professional offshore sailing Team Malizia to rally support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining and secure the protection of the High Seas, our global commons.
Whilst competing in the toughest offshore races, Team Malizia is dedicated to raising awareness about Ocean protection, collecting valuable Ocean data from the most remote areas of the world, and inspiring ambitious climate action. Today, Team Malizia is thrilled to announce its collaboration with The Ocean and Us, a key partner in the ocean advocacy world, thus furthering its A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now! mission. This collaboration comes as The Ocean and Us is launching the Ocean Hope Expedition, a project connecting people to the Ocean and building collective resistance to deep-sea mining, before the International Seabed Authority meets in July 2025 to decide whether to open the High Seas to mining.
Momentum to stop deep-sea mining is growing. Twenty-seven governments are calling for a moratorium or a pause on deep-sea mining, as are hundreds of civil society groups, scientists, financial institutions as well as many tech and electric vehicle companies demonstrating that metals from the deep-sea are not needed for the energy transition. Despite this momentum, time is running out.
"We have lost over two thirds of global wildlife and each one of us is feeling the impacts of the climate crisis", explains Farah Obaidullah, founding director of The Ocean and Us. "We cannot afford to embark on a new form of ecocide. The good news is this is an industry that has not yet started and for which global resistance is growing. I am therefore thrilled to partner with Team Malizia to bring hope and importantly empowerment to all and stop this next disaster from starting. Together with Team Malizia and others across the sports, music and art world, we can ramp up support to stop this reckless industry."
"As sailors, we spend a large part of our time on the High Seas, providing a window to the world on this often overlooked yet significant part of our planet", comments Boris Herrmann, skipper of Team Malizia. "With our sport comes a responsibility to be stewards of the Ocean. We can no longer leave Ocean conservation to scientists and activists alone. We must have all hands on deck to protect the global Ocean and prevent deep-sea mining from starting."
Although they are now officially announcing their partnership, Team Malizia and The Ocean and Us have already joined forces several times this past year. Most recently, Farah Obaidullah and Boris Herrmann participated in a panel discussion in New York on the urgency to protect the High Seas. The event was co-organised by Team Malizia and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment as part of the sailing team's Ocean conference series. The event featured high-level speakers, scientists, and Ocean advocates, and was endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Later this year Farah Obaidullah will embark on the Ocean Hope Expedition, travelling down the western coast of the Americas from Alaska to Chile and engaging with key stakeholders to gather support for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining. Along the way, local, regional and international personalities from the worlds of music, sailing, art, conservation, and government will join her to spark conversations and unite to prevent this next disaster from happening. The journey will be chronicled on YouTube and other social media to gain worldwide support.