ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — An annual international summit on saving the oceans on Wednesday concluded in Athens with more than US$11.5 billion in pledges, the Greek foreign minister said.

“The members who participated committed themselves to approximately 500 actions. We also had a total of over US$11.5 billion (10.8 billion euros) in commitments,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis told state TV ERT.

The Our Ocean summit was launched in 2014 as the first international event of its kind to address all issues related to oceans, with some 122.3 billion euros pledged since then to protect them.

This year’s three-day conference had delegates from over 130 countries and organisations.

Last year’s summit hosted in Panama saw participants pledge US$19 billion toward projects addressing sustainable fishing, pollution, maritime security and protected areas.

The European Union last year announced that it would devote 816.5 million euros to ocean-related projects.

This year, the EU announced 40 commitments for 2024 worth 3.5 billion euros.

“They represent the biggest amount ever announced by the European Union since the start of our conference,” Gerapetritis said.

The US announced over half a billion dollars in actions including conservation of marine biodiversity, ocean observation and early warning systems for island communities.

This year’s summit highlighted issues of sustainable tourism in coastal and island regions, green maritime transport, reducing plastics and microplastics, and the green transition of the Mediterranean.

In Greece, the government said 21 initiatives with a budget of 780 million euros are underway for the protection of marine biodiversity.

The government also last week announced the creation of two new national parks, one in the Ionian Sea for marine mammals and turtles, and another in the Aegean Sea for seabirds.

The initiative immediately ran into opposition from neighbouring Turkey, which complained that Greece was “exploiting” environmental issues to claim maritime territory in the Aegean whose sovereignty Ankara disputes.

The next Our Ocean conference will be held in Busan, South Korea.