BRUSSELS — The European Union announced Wednesday a €92 million ($107 million) investment package to expand its ocean monitoring network using underwater drones and satellites, as the Trump administration prepares severe cuts to a similar U.S. program.
The initiative, called OceanEye, will enable the EU to take a leading role in global ocean monitoring at a time when climate change is rapidly warming seas, intensifying storms, and threatening marine ecosystems worldwide.
Oceans cover about 70% of the planet’s surface and are vital to the Earth’s climate system, producing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. But rising ocean temperatures — driven by climate change — have accelerated in recent decades, supercharging storms and drought, ravaging coral reefs, and endangering species alongside pressures from overfishing and industrial pollution.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the investment would allow the EU to “take the helm of global efforts to explore the depths of the planet’s vast oceans.”
The funding comes as the Trump administration has proposed severe cuts to a comparable U.S. ocean monitoring system. The White House has not released detailed budget plans, but administration officials have signaled deep reductions to federal climate and ocean observation programs.
EU officials did not specify exact timelines for OceanEye deployments but said the package would fund a new generation of autonomous underwater vehicles and ocean-observing satellites designed to monitor temperature, acidity, and ecosystem health in near-real-time.
The EU’s expanded monitoring effort fills a gap that scientists warn could weaken global tracking of ocean changes critical to weather forecasting and climate modeling. International research networks rely on data from both U.S. and European systems; a reduction in U.S. contributions would leave large stretches of the Atlantic and Pacific under-monitored, researchers said.