Whale sculptures made from plastic waste recovered from the ocean are on display at the parliament building in Budapest, Hungary on Tuesday. The temporary installation was erected as part of the international environmental movement "Plastic Free July" to protest against polluting the world's oceans with plastics. Photo: IC

A global drive to map 80 percent of the seabed by 2030 should be launched to protect the world's oceans, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.

Speaking at the opening of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Guterres called on governments around the world to "increase their ambition to recover the oceans."

Pollution of all kinds must be reduced in order to protect "people whose lives depend on the sea from the impact of climate change," he said in a statement.

New, climate-resilient coastal infrastructure must be created, he added, and the maritime transport sector must commit to reducing carbon emissions to zero "by 2050."

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also called for the mapping of maritime territory, as well as more investment in environmental education.

De Sousa said: "This Lisbon conference has to be not only a sign that there is room for peace, multilateralism, dialogue, cooperation, but also a sign that we are going to act faster."

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa Monday made a commitment to classify 30 percent of the national marine area by 2030, and to bring all national fishery stocks within sustainable biological limits.

The Portuguese government "will continue to invest in the Air Center initiative, as a network of scientific collaboration between countries and research institutes in areas such as space, observation of the atmosphere, oceans, climate and energy," Costa said.

"By the end of this year, we will create the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development office," he added.

Portugal will also "ensure that 100 percent of the maritime space under Portuguese sovereignty or jurisdiction is evaluated in good environmental condition."

Protecting the oceans is crucial to combating climate change, promoting biodiversity and sustainable development, and ensuring maritime safety and freedom of movement, Costa said.

"We need a global ocean agenda, focused on practical solutions, based on science and endowed with the necessary financial resources," he added in a statement.

The United Nations Conference on the Oceans is taking place in Lisbon until Saturday, attended by heads of state and government from across the globe.

The meeting began on Monday with the nomination of the heads of state of Portugal and Kenya as presidents of the conference.

Xinhua