COP28: EU joins forces with Latin America and Caribbean to combat sargassum and make it an economic opportunity under Global Gateway

Excerpt and Photo from international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu

Today at COP28, the EU and the Government of Dominican Republic co-organised the “COP 28 Sargassum Panel – Urgency and Opportunities for Action and Investment” at the Dominican Republic Pavilion. The Panel brought together the governments of the Barbados, Dominican Republic, Mexico, regional actors such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) and representatives from the private sector.

This forum follows both regions’ joint commitments at the EU-CELAC summit in July 2023, where, leaders pledged to work together to combat sargassum in the Caribbean. Under the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda – the EU roadmap for potential investment projects to help address the region’s infrastructure needs – the EU launched “Turning sargassum into an economic opportunity”, a Team Europe Initiative that aims to reduce the damage caused by these algae and integrate them into the circular economy, where, for example, sargassum would be transformed into cosmetics, fertilizers, electricity and biomass. It also includes aspects related to monitoring, research and the mobilisation of resources to maximise impact for tackling and optimising both region’s joint approach.

The forum at COP28 contributed to consolidating understanding, review ongoing experiences and identify opportunities for future joint actions. Since the EU-Caribbean Sargassum conference in June 2023 in Santo Domingo, this follows close coordination between the EU, Caribbean and Latin American partners to combat the challenge of sargassum and make it an economic opportunity.