Washington, Feb. 20, 2021 (Lusa) - The Portuguese embassy in the United States has held a virtual conference with several climate experts, highlighting the need to strengthen international cooperation and add oceans' problem to world priorities.

The conversation was moderated by the Portuguese ambassador in Washington, Domingos Fezas Vital. It included European and North American specialists' participation to discuss new transatlantic alliances before the United Nations climate conference, known as COP26, in Glasgow, in November.

The Portuguese ambassador said Friday was a "day to celebrate" the United States rejoining the Paris Agreement after the exit ordered by the former president, Trump.

The US's commitments to the international community give wings to "greater expectations" for a transatlantic climate alliance that also brings together international efforts, the ambassador said.

"In the European Union, the Portuguese presidency is committed to making all possible progress in the dialogue for a new climate law to ensure that Europe is the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050," Domingos Fezas Vital said.

Stavros Lambrinidis, EU Ambassador to the United States, said, "Covid-19 is an immediate battle, but climate change and biodiversity loss are the defining challenges of our time".

According to Lambrinidis, the European Union has proposals for Joe Biden's administration, including taking on a zero-emissions target by 2050, a new sustainable, green agenda for transatlantic trade and a green technology alliance.

Sue Biniaz, from the team of US presidential climate envoy John Kerry, shared some US expectations to achieve at the UN COP26 conference in November this year, such as a commitment to end excess pollutant emissions by 2050, the creation of defined strategies and increased funding for vulnerable countries.

Biniaz said the recovery, after the pandemic that affected the whole world, has to be inclusive and aligned with the Paris Agreement climate objectives.

Dan Lashof, director of the World Resources Institute in the US, added that "ocean-based environmental solutions" must be found.

Tiago Pitta e Cunha, CEO of the Blue Ocean foundation and member of the European Commission's mission dedicated to oceans, stressed that oceans must become part of the global climate change agenda.

"If you understand the interaction between oceans and climate, you cannot address climate change without thinking about viable oceans. The ocean crisis will put the viability of the waters at stake in the coming decades because of rising water temperatures and carbon dioxide saturation," Tiago Pitta e Cunha said.

The oceans must be the central theme for a new working group for an alliance between Europe and the United States, the Blue Ocean Foundation's executive president also highlighted.

In the absence of a "scientific model" for the oceans, the issue should be seen as an "existential threat" that threatens island countries and could have a major impact on areas dependent on agriculture, he concluded.

The head of global affairs and innovation at the European Union delegation in Washington, Mercedes García-Pérez, highlighted two basic principles that are expected to be seen at the COP26 conference regarding the plan's strategies that may be established: ambition and transparency.

Mercedez García-Pérez called for greater support for countries especially vulnerable to climate change, contributing less to climate change but suffer more.

The UN climate conference COP26 is due to occur in November in Glasgow, Scotland, after being cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Domingos Fezas Vital concluded that the consensus on the various climate change issues must be taken advantage of and strengthened. Strong cooperation between Europe and America could be envisaged.

EYL/ADB // ADB.

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