UN: 'We are at a crossroads' – actor Javier Bardem to UN Marine Biodiversity panel

W/S Bardem speaking at Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, New York City
SOT, Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and Greenpeace activist: "The truth is our oceans are under more pressure than any other time in history. That's a fact and we are at a crossroads. All of you in this room are standing at a crossroad and you bear huge responsibility, huge, individually and collectively, to take us down the right path. And I can't help but feel that we, as living creatures in this precious planet of ours, are taking a very dangerous track. And you don't need to be an expert. I'm not, I'm just a citizen, but you don't need to be an expert to understand what is going on."
W/S Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in session *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and Greenpeace activist: "Without oceans, the Earth would simply not function. And it is you, the delegates here and now, who are charged with this sacred responsibility. You are at a crossroad; you have a historic opportunity to turn the tide - not just for the high seas and marine life, but for the planet as a whole, for the millions of people who depend on healthy oceans to survive and for our children and future generations who we pass this planet on to."
W/S Attendees applauding after Bardem's speech *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and Greenpeace activist: "The world is watching as you negotiate this Treaty. At this time, we just can't, cannot, cannot afford to get it wrong. I came here to do my part and I'm humbly asking you to do yours by committing to a strong treaty we can be proud of, one that can actually create safe havens for marine life to recover. The oceans belong to us all, but their fate is now in your hands."
W/S Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in session *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and Greenpeace activist: "We all care and we must do something together, that's why it's called United Nations, not Un-united Nations. So, let's unite and let's do something of the oceans and for the sake of the generations to come. It sounds very simple and it is. But as we know, then it comes economics. But the problem is how much are we able to sacrifice in the name of - the macrocosms of economics. How much are we willing to sacrifice? And I guess I leave the answer to you because you have to answer for all of us."
W/S Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in session *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and Greenpeace activist: "Basically, what I would like to say to them [the Trump administration], is I guess what we would all like to say to them, is please pay attention to the surroundings. Pay attention to how the nature is speaking to us, constantly, how the heatwaves are heating Europe this summer. How much plastic we can find while we are taking a nice walk on the beach or anywhere. I say, being in some place this year plastic was floating everywhere. It's like that's a fact, nobody is making that up."
M/S Speakers leaving Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in session ending
W/S Speakers leaving Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
SCRIPT
Oscar-winning Spanish actor and Greenpeace activist Javier Bardem said that the world was at a crossroads on marine preservation while speaking at the United Nations in New York on Monday as part of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
"Without oceans, the Earth would simply not function. And it is you, the delegates here and now, who are charged with this sacred responsibility," Bardem said.
The Oscar-winning actor also took aim at US President Donald Trump's administration, calling on them to pay attention to their surroundings and to how the environment is changing.
The meeting was the third of four planned sessions which are expected to set out the framework for an international legally binding treaty for the protection and sustainable use of the world's oceans.
The actor has been an activist for Greenpeace since 2018 focussing on Antarctic preservation and wildlife.