West Coast Publishing Ocean 2014 affirmative page

EU CP- Aff Responses

2AC Perm

Perm works – creates more coherent EU policies

Martin Visbeck, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, 2013, “Discussion of Challenges, Possible Solutions and Recommendations,” EU-U.S. Conference Series Sustainable Oceans: Reconciling Economic Use and Protection, http://www.draeger-stiftung.de/fileadmin/user_upload/konferenzen_2013/oceans_report_2013.pdf, accessed: 5/24/14

A potential outcome of the conference series which was discussed at the third and final conference, is the need for and prospect of establishing a European Ocean Alliance. Such an alliance – possibly supported by a European Ocean Foundation – could provide a medium-term, possibly permanent, inclusive and flexible platform for dialogue among experts, government representatives, stakeholders, and civil society on all aspects relating to oceans and coasts. It could advance and integrate the need for protecting, managing, and sustainably using marine resources into the definition and implementation of relevant policies and actions. Such an alliance could build on the EU-U.S. Conference Series on Sustainable Oceans and the preceding EU-U.S. dialogue “Cooperation Across the Atlantic for Marine Governance Integration”. It should raise awareness and educate the public on the consequences of careless human behavior. It should develop options and recommendations for EU policy and action. It should continue and build on international dialogue among EU Member States and between the U.S. and Europe, having an initial focus on the wider Atlantic, the Arctic and the marginal seas in the region. It could help in the development of an EU position on global policy towards the oceans and coasts. A new level of cooperation will enhance the continuity, coherence and effectiveness of policies, notably of policies within Europe, between the EU‘s internal (or “domestic”) and external policies. It could facilitate the harmonization of EU policies and its positions in international organizations concerned with ocean governance.

Perm avoids the link through cooperation

Tabitha Grace Mallory, Ph.D. Candidate, China Studies Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, January 26, 2012, “China as a Distant Water Fishing Nation”, Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, http://origin.www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/ transcripts/1.26.12HearingTranscript.pdf, accessed 5/25/14

Overall, China has demonstrated a record of cooperation with international institutions. The

United States should continue to work with China on a multilateral level to manage global

fisheries. The United States is also encouraged to cooperate bilaterally with China over this

issue. Many of the challenges of China’s fishing activities arise from lack of capacity and

education in China—bilateral cooperation can impart important knowledge, skills and best

practices.

EU and US policy align despite small differences

CALAMAR, Cooperation Across the Atlantic for Marine Governance Integration, June 8^th 2011, “A Comparison: EU and US Ocean Policy,” http://calamar-dialogue.org/sites/default/files/CALAMAR_1_Sum.pdf, accessed: 5/25/14

The EU and the US have very different decision-making structures for creating and implementing ocean policy. Nevertheless, as two highly developed regions, their interests and policy objectives tend to align, although not always in perfect synchronicity in terms of priority or strategy. The EU and US have similar priorities for improving domestic and international ocean governance. While the EU has been focusing on integrating many aspects of maritime governance through the IMP, the US has set up integrative structures and national priority objectives, such as ecosystem-based management, CMSP, and improved coordination, through the national ocean policy. Both regions have similar goals moving forward: both seek strong leadership from Member States/states on rallying support for effective ocean policies, improving the knowledge and innovation base on marine science and increasing the sustainability and economic vitality of coastal communities.

2AC EU Fails

EU policies are contradictory – lobbyists and policy goals create fragmented initiatives

Matthias Mundt, Institute for International Political Economy Berlin, Berlin School of Economics & Law, Working Paper No. 12, 2012, The Effects of EU Fisheries Partnership Agreements on Fish Stocks and Fishermen: The Case of Cape Verde, http://transparentsea.co/images/f/f6/Ipe_working_paper_12.pdf, accessed: 5/24/14

This paper demonstrates to some extent that the EU breaches the goals it sets for itself. The EU states that “coherence with other EU policies must be ensured within all parts of the CFP. In the case of the external component, the EU development and environment policies have a particular role to play” (EU 2009c: 22). It was shown that despite a decline in tuna catches by the artisanal fleet in Cape Verde and the continuing overexploitation of some tuna stocks, the EU has not altered or stopped its fisheries operations in foreign waters.40 Acheampong (1997: 18) criticised that “[…] the commercial nature of the agreements still dominates the negotiations.” Over ten years later, this is still the case; the horizontal coherence between development and fisheries programmes of the EU is in constant conflict as on the one hand financial aid is given to developing countries such as Cape Verde, but on the other hand the EU’s fisheries management disturbs the operations of artisanal fishermen and with them all those relying on fish as a protein source.

No solvency – no one knows when the EU does things

Matthias Mundt, Institute for International Political Economy Berlin, Berlin School of Economics & Law, Working Paper No. 12, 2012, The Effects of EU Fisheries Partnership Agreements on Fish Stocks and Fishermen: The Case of Cape Verde, http://transparentsea.co/images/f/f6/Ipe_working_paper_12.pdf, accessed: 5/24/14

The EU argues that it “[…] is the only fishing power in the world which conducts its relations

with third countries in total transparency, by making all their details publically available” (EU

2009b: 25). Of the 30 fishermen, 24 (80 per cent, question 13) interviewed have not heard of a

fisheries agreement between the European Union and Cape Verde. The six remaining

fishermen know that one exists, but are not aware of its content. It holds true that all FPA

protocols can be found on the website of the EU, but additional information is usually not

available. Thus it remains unknown how many licenses to European fishermen are issued annually and how much tuna and other fish is caught or discarded. Similarly, data on bycatch

is missing entirely.

Marine research infrastructure too fragmented to be effective

European Commission Expert Group, Expert Group on Marine Research Infrastructures, EU Marine and Maritime Research Strategy, January, 2013, “Towards European Integrated Ocean Observation,” http://www.innovation.ca/sites/default/files/Rome2013/files/EC%20Marine%20Infrastrucure%20Expert%20Group%20Report%202013.pdf, accessed: 5/24/14

The European landscape of MRIs governance initiatives is too complex and fragmented and this is an obstacle to achieving optimal impact of MRIs and responding to increasing societal needs related to our seas.

No Solvency – Environmental Regs

EU is too fragmented on environmental regulations

EU Greens, European Green Party, July 1^st, 2010, “Green MEPs call for moratorium on new offshore oil and gas exploration in the North Sea,” http://europeangreens.eu/news/green-meps-call-moratorium-new-offshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-north-sea, accessed: 5/25/14

Commenting on current EU rules governing environmental liability, Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout said: “Current international and EU legislation on liability is fragmented and incoherent. It is absurd that international rules on liability for oil pollution caused by an oil rig do not exist. As a result, oil companies have few incentives to introduce additional safety measures for oil drilling. In addition, there is currently no EU legislation for damage to marine waters as a result of oil pollution or spills. As a first step, the EU should consider extending the Environmental Liability Directive to include damage to marine waters and delete the exclusion of liability for oil spill incidents that take place outside EU waters.

No Solvency – Marine Biotech

EU partners refuse to work together on biotech

ESF Marine Board, European Science Foundation, September, 2010, Marine Biotechnology: A New Vision and Strategy for Europe, http://www.esf.org/fileadmin/Public_documents/Publications/marine_biotechnology_01.pdf, accessed: 5/24/14

There is currently an upsurge in interest by biotechnology companies in isolating and characterising novel enzymes, biopolymers and biomaterials with properties which meet identified needs and circumvent existing barriers. Biomolecules and biomaterials from marine sources are of particular interest as they likely to have novel characteristics such as increased salt tolerance, pressure tolerance, cold adaptivity, heat tolerance and may have novel physical, chemical/stereochemical as well as original biochemical properties. Mining for enzymes If we consider (i) the vast reservoir of enzymes identified through large-scale sequencing projects of genomes and metagenomes (mostly marine for the latter); and (ii) the current and near-future advances in screening and expression technologies (see Section 2.6), the potential to unveil novel interesting enzymes from marine sources is very high. But this does not automatically guarantee novel commercial products. Of course, the issues of supply of raw material, property rights and intellectual property, combined with the current limitations in screening and expression technologies are important (as stated in Section 2) and deserve attention. However, the main obstacle to progress in this case is the inability of academic and industry partners at EU level to work in a coordinated fashion in order to develop common projects. This cooperation is, to some extent, a prerequisite for enzyme development and commercialisation. Indeed, hundreds of novel enzymes without industrial applications have been identified through past projects and a better focus on detailed specifications of enzymes required for new processes or for the improvement of existing ones is required. Since the detailed specifications of a product, notably the precise substrate specificity and conversion efficiency can be of high value, they are not easily shared. This implies that huge screening projects of enzymes should preferentially be operated by the industry possessing the precise technical specifications of the enzymes of interest.

No Solvency – Ocean Energy

EU fails – no funding or infrastructure and licensing too complex

European Commission, January 20^th, 2014, “Blue Energy: COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,” http://www.kowi.de/en/Portaldata/2/Resources/fp/2014-COM-blue-energy.pdf, accessed: 5/24/14

Expanding and strengthening the EU's transmission grid infrastructure, offshore but also on land and across borders, is necessary to accommodate future volumes of ocean energy and transport it to centres of demand. Whilst the recent TEN-E guidelines may yield improvements in the future, concerns about timely grid connection remain. Other infrastructural issues including inadequate access to suitable port facilities and the lack of specialised vessels for installation and maintenance also need to be addressed. • Complex licensing and consenting procedures can delay projects and raise costs. Uncertainty about the correct application of environmental legislation may further prolong consenting processes. Integrating ocean energy into national maritime spatial plans is therefore important. Some of the environmental impacts of ocean energy installations are not fully understood at this stage. More research and a better exchange of information on the environmental impacts will be required to understand and mitigate any adverse effects ocean energy installations may have on marine ecosystems. Cumulative impacts with other human activities also need to be assessed in the context of achieving good environmental status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive. The integration of ocean energy into national maritime spatial plans is also important for addressing maritime safety concerns. Due to the current economic climate, several governments have substantially scaled back grant and revenue support for renewables, in some cases even introducing retrospective changes. Such developments can erode investors' confidence and put further development of the sector at risk. A lack of stable financial support, reflecting the position of the technologies in the development cycle, can lengthen the time necessary for projects to move towards profitability.