Restore our ocean and waters by 2030 : what's in it for me?
Date: 2022-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU policy, EU research policy, Framework Programme for Research and Development, biodiversity, cancer, carbon neutrality, circular economy, climate change, food security, fund (EU), innovation, maritime economy, ocean, soil protection, town, water protection

What are EU Missions?

The European Commission launched five new EU Missions 
– including the Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters 
by 2030”.

European Missions are new broad mobilisation initiatives 
rooted in the Horizon Europe research and innovation 
programme, by going beyond the existing instruments. 
Missions will bring concrete solutions to the greatest 
challenges of our time, such as fighting cancer, adapting 
to climate change, protecting the ocean, seas and waters, 
living in greener cities and ensuring healthy soil and food.

Missions will engage all Europeans at EU, regional and 
local level. 
They are about what we can do together to shape the 
world we want to live in.

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MISSIONS

R E S TO R E   O U R   O C E A N  & WAT E R S   BY  2030 

The objective of this Mission is to restore by 2030 the 
health of one of our most precious shared resources: our 
ocean and waters. In a nutshell, this means to:
• 

 protect and restore marine and freshwater biodiversity 
and ecosystems, 

•  eliminate pollution, and 
•  make the blue economy carbon-neutral and circular

The Mission will look at the whole water system from rivers 
to the seas and ocean. To support the Mission objectives 
and its related lighthouses, two cross-cutting enablers will be 
enhanced: the digital ocean and water knowledge system and 
broad public mobilisation and engagement.

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022Why the ocean  and waters matter

Life on Earth depends on the health of the connected 
system of the ocean, seas and inland waters, which covers 
around 75% of the Earth’s surface. This system regulates 
our climate and provides oxygen, drinking water, clean 
energy and food. 
40% of Europeans live in coastal areas, and at least 4.5 
million people in the EU work in sectors related to our 
ocean, seas and coasts. 
Human-made changes are putting our ocean and waters 
at serious risk. But it’s not too late. We can still reverse 
the negative trend, by shifting our focus from exploiting 
our ocean and waters to making them sustainable and 
resilient, and ensuring economic recovery goes hand in 
hand with environmental protection.

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022Why the ocean  and waters matter

What opportunities we have if we take care of the 
ocean and waters

A restored ocean and healthy waters can play a key role 
in improving our lives and achieving:
• 

 Climate neutrality: the ocean and waters are major 
carbon sinks and are also essential for adapting to a 
changing climate 
 Biodiversity: the ocean and waters are home to a rich 
diversity of species 
 Economic prosperity: the ocean is estimated to 
generate €2.5 trillion of goods and services per year by 
2030 

• 

• 

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022How will this Mission work   
and who can get involved? 
The Mission will develop and demonstrate innovative 
technological, social, business and governance 
solutions.  It will promote new forms of cooperation, 
allowing everyone to play an active role. 

The scope of the Mission goes far beyond research and 
innovation. It combines new forms of governance and 
cooperation and a new way of reaching out to citizens 
and getting them on board, including young people. 
EU countries, regions and a wide range of public and private 
sector stakeholders will also need to get involved, to help 
ensure we make real impact, together. 
Each one of us can co-design, co-implement and co-monitor 
this Mission by participating in campaigns and other activities.

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022What happens now? 

In early 2022, the first calls for proposals under Horizon Europe will 
make available €114 million to support the rolling out of the Mission.
Projects will develop and demonstrate breakthrough innovation to 
protect and restore ecosystems, eliminate pollution and make the blue 
economy carbon-neutral and circular. 

Alongside Horizon Europe the Mission also mobilises the European 
Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), InvestEU and other 
EU programmes. Together, they will provide around €500 million in seed 
funding during 2021-23. Along with Member State contributions and 
private funding, this will create a big and lasting impact.

Throughout its lifetime, the Mission will move from piloting to 
demonstration, deployment and market entry of innovative solutions to 
restore our ocean and waters.

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022What are the lighthouses 
and how do they work? 

In the Mission Ocean and Waters we will set up four Mission 
lighthouses at basin scale in: 
•  the Mediterranean Sea
•  the Baltic and North Sea

•  the Danube river basin
•  the Atlantic-Arctic basin

For centuries, lighthouses have been guiding sailors through 
storms to safety. 
The four Mission Ocean and Waters lighhouses will act as hubs 
that will develop, demonstrate and deploy new solutions 
far and wide across the world. Building on existing governance 
structures, the lighthouses will bring together relevant Member 
States, the European Commission and other partners, through a 
political implementation charter. In the charters, the partners commit to 
cooperating and aligning resources to achieve the Mission objectives.

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022The Danube lighthouse and   
the Atlantic-Arctic lighthouse
Objective:  protecting and restoring marine and 

freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity.

Targets:
• 

 Protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s sea area and 
integrate ecological corridors, as part of a true Trans-
European Nature Network. 
 Strictly protect at least 10% of the EU’s sea area. 
 Restore at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers. 
 Contribute to relevant upcoming marine nature 
restoration targets, including degraded seabed habitats 
and coastal ecosystems

• 
• 
• 

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022The Mediterranean lighthouse
Objective:  preventing and eliminating pollution of our 

ocean, seas and waters.

Targets:
• 
• 

 Reduce by at least 50% plastic litter at sea.
 Reduce by at least 30% microplastics released into the 
environment.
 Reduce by at least 50% nutrient losses, the use and risk 
of chemical pesticides.

• 

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022The Baltic-North sea lighthouse
Objective:  making the blue economy  
carbon-neutral and circular.

Targets:
• 

 Eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from maritime 
economic activities in the EU and sequester those 
emissions that cannot be avoided (i.e. net zero maritime 
emissions).
 Develop zero-carbon and low-impact aquaculture, 
and promote circular, low-carbon multi-purpose use of 
marine and water space.

• 

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022What have EU-funded projects achieved so far? (1)
Objective: Protect and restore marine and freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems 

Example from Horizon 2020 programme:  
MERCES project

Example from EMFF programme:   
AFRIMED project 

Due to global warming, overfishing, pollution, species 
invasion and habitat loss, the ecosystems of our seas 
and ocean are feeling the pressure. To understand the 
impact of these actions more research is needed to 
understand these drivers and improve the state of the 
EU’s degraded coastal and marine habitats. 
Researchers from the project’s 28 partners worked 
to advance the knowledge base and demonstrate 
practical approaches to implement marine ecosystem 
restoration in Europe. 

The AFRIMED project builds on the MERCES project, 
applying its findings in Europe and beyond.
AFRIMED implements innovative restoration and 
formulates guidelines to effectively restore damaged 
macroalgal forests and degraded habitats in the 
Mediterranean Sea. 

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022What have EU-funded projects achieved so far? (2)
Objective: Eliminate pollution 

Example from Horizon 2020 programme:  
CLAIM Project 

Example from EMFF programme:   
OCEANETS project

By deploying and demonstrating a range of 
innovative technologies to collect and treat plastics 
waste,  CLAIM  aims to prove the feasibility of 
pollution-prevention approaches, set to make a big 
impact on protecting the marine environment.
The solutions will prevent litter from entering the sea 
at two main source points: waste-water treatment 
plants and river mouths.

Lost or discarded fishing gears can cause great 
harm at sea, as they are a source of pollution for 
marine waters and a waste of resources. OCEANETS 
project aims at preventing, recovering and recycling 
abandoned fishing gears, and demonstrating the 
feasibility of a circular economy model  
for managing these complex  
waste materials.

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022 
What have EU-funded projects achieved so far? (3)
Objective: Make the blue economy carbon-neutral and circular

Example from Horizon 2020 programme:  
SUCCESS project  

Example from EMFF programme:  
GREENing the BLUE project

The project helped make European fisheries 
and aquaculture industries more competitive by 
researching the full value chain, i.e. from the fishing 
net (producers) to the plate (consumers).
The project has consolidated cooperation among 
scallop producers in Galicia, Spain, bringing producer 
organisations closer to processors to create a fresher, 
more premium product. The fishers sell to the 
company at a negotiated price, which beats selling by 
auction, yielding a high-quality product.

GREENing the BLUE presents the full-scale 
demonstration of a foldable wingsail solution based 
on aeronautical design, which reduces fuel use and 
pollutant emissions in maritime transport through 
wind energy co-propulsion.

ISBN 978-92-76-46714-4, doi:10.2777/904515, KI-08-22-016-EN-NWHAT’S IN IT FOR ME © European Union, 2022