Diane is a lobbyist at the Surfrider Foundation Europe. A less known aspect of Surfrider yet just as important. Just as private sector lobbyists represent their clients’ interests to legislators, Surfrider lobbyists defend ocean protection and interests. Discover through this interview of Diane Beaumenay-Joannet, this fascinating job which is essential on the political stage.

Can you tell us more about yourself?

My name is Diane, I have been working at the Surfrider Foundation Europe for three years and I am a lobbying officer and I work on marine debris and climate change. My background is environmental law.

I now live in Paris but I grew up between the Mediterranean and the Pacific Ocean, I have always had a special connection with the sea and the ocean.

How did you end up at Surfrider?

I first found out about Surfrider Europe during my Masters, as part of a legal consultation on shipping containers lost at sea. This gave me the opportunity to discover the organization, their focus but mostly the variety of actions, because education and awareness are some of Surfrider’s well-known levers but there is also lobbying which includes passing amendments in favor of oceans, whether it be waste, marine transportation or even water quality for instance.

A project, a victory to feature?

Cop21. The goal was to put the ocean at the center of the international negotiations on climate change, including via the Ocean and Climate Platform gathering both civil society and researchers. We managed to add Oceans to the Paris Agreement Preamble. The legal aspect is not necessarily representative but politically speaking this is a very important signal! The link between oceans and their key role in climate change was officialized for the first time at a global level. Before Paris, the hot topics were climate change, greenhouse gas emissions or deforestation but nobody talked about the ocean while it also endures human activity consequences and climate change and it is obviously part of the solution.

Another important victory is the vote of amendments for the ban on single use plastic objects which are largely found on beaches and in the ocean.

First, in 2015 the ban on single use plastic bags and plastic tableware in the Energy Transition for Green Growth Act. Next, in 2016 with the Biodiversity Law which bans the use of micro plastic beads in cosmetics ( since January 2018) and cotton swabs ( starting January 1st 2020). It is sometimes only one amendment amongst hundreds , in a bill amongst hundreds of bills but the impact is huge. It represents years of thorough work, battles with plastic lobbies and amazing victories for the ocean. Today, under the impulse of non profit and non-governmental organizations, the European Commission has submitted a directive on the strategy to adopt regarding plastic, there is a general realization of the urgency to take action.

One last word to conclude ?

Every action counts. We all responsible for pollution, mankind creates waste. Today we are well aware of our impact and that we are also part of the solution. Reducing our waste, consuming products without packaging, reducing our energy consumption, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, are all small things which add up and have a huge impact on our environment .