France hosted the One Ocean summit through Feb. 9-11 in Brest, France, to encourage the international community to raise its ambitions on marine issues and translate shared responsibility to ocean into tangible commitments, the French Embassy said in a press release.

According to the embassy, more than 30 events, including workshops, forums, roundtables and other initiatives held on sidelines of high-level segment to engage the international maritime community, addressing topics of global scope relating to the ocean and to propose solutions, beyond the existing status assessments.

The embassy said that President Emmanuel Macron brought together determined group of heads of state and government, leaders of multilateral institutions, business leaders and civil society policymakers to take ambitious commitments.

According to the embassy, several important initiatives were launched in favor of marine ecosystem protection and sustainable fisheries, intended to fight pollution, in particular from plastics, respond to the impacts of climate change, as well as advocate for improved governance of the oceans.

According to the release, ocean covers more than 70 percent of the surface of the planet that regulates of major environmental balances, climate in particular, provides resources, enable trades, and act as essential link between countries and human communities, however, now oceans are seriously threatened by numerous pressures, such as the effects of climate change, pollution or the overexploitation of marine resources.

In an effort to mobilize the international community and take tangible action to mitigate such pressures on the ocean, the President of the French Republic decided to organize One Planet Summit dedicated to the ocean, the release added.

The “One Ocean Summit” was held in context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and with the support of the United Nations.

Offline participation in the One Ocean Summit was limited to key professionals and officials representing more than 65 countries, while other speakers joined the summit via video conference.