What is the UN Oceans Conference and why does it matter?

Euronews

6 hours ago

World leaders are gathering in the French city of Nice tomorrow for the United Nations Oceans Conference.
As the world's oceans face increasing threats from climate change, overuse of marine resources and pollution, leading marine experts are calling on governments to use this opportunity to protect fragile underwater ecosystems.
Taking place from 9 to 13 June, it is the largest ocean summit ever organised and could provide a vital chance for key agreements to be finalised, promises to be delivered upon, and new pledges to be made.
Co-chaired by France and Costa Rica, the conference aims to confront the deepening global ocean emergency. Scientists warn that climate change, plastic pollution, the loss of ecosystems and the overuse of marine resources are all pushing our oceans to the point of no return.
In an effort to spark collaboration and subsequent solutions to some of these problems, UNOC is bringing together world leaders, scientists, activists and businesses.
Specifically, it focuses on the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. The overarching theme of this particular conference is 'accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean'.
This is the third UN Oceans conference, and over 10,000 people will be in attendance. It is set to welcome leaders like Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula and France's President Emmanuel Macron will be in the spotlight.
The week-long talks will end with the adoption of a political declaration. While this won't be legally binding, it sets the tone for future global ambition, serving as a signal to governments, investors and civil society and hopefully motivating support for new initiatives.
UNOC identifies three key priorities for the declaration: defending ocean ecosystems, sustainable ocean economies and accelerating actions.
A successful conference would result in a final and signed political declaration which would be called the Nice Ocean Action Plan.
More ratifications of the landmark UN High Seas Treaty are also expected as efforts intensify to ensure its implementation.
A strong outcome could also help lay the groundwork for more biodiversity and climate wins at COP30 in Brazil later this year.
France is co-hosting the conference with Costa Rica, and it is being held in Nice on the country's Mediterranean coast.
Ahead of the summit, President Macron and the French government have been encouraging countries to improve ocean protection.
'We've…had the leadership from the French government engaging with countries to increase the ratification for the BBNJ (UN High Seas Treaty),' says Rita El Zaghloul, director of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.
In late May, the European Union and six of its member states formally ratified the High Seas Treaty after France and Spain did so earlier this year. It is hoped that this international agreement will garner enough ratifications before the end of the summit to enter into force as international law.
France has been actively leading efforts to engage with countries on ocean protection, El Zaghloul adds, to ensure that the conference ends with some concrete results.
Earlier this year, Chile and France announced the '100 per cent Alliance', urging coastal and ocean states to commit to 100 per cent sustainable management of their national ocean areas.
But Enric Sala, National Geographic explorer in residence and founder of Pristine Seas, emphasises that France has to be a 'leader in actions, not just words'.
'France is the co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, committing to at least 30 per cent of the ocean protected by 2030,' he explains, 'and in France…there are all these protected areas, but most of these protected areas are open to commercial fishing, including bottom trawling.'
Sala says just 1 per cent of French waters are no-take areas that actually allow marine life to recover. These areas also bring huge benefits for tourism, jobs and local, small-scale fishermen.
'Everybody expects President Macron to make some announcements of designation of new marine protected areas that are truly protected. Also, there is a great expectation for President Macron to make some commitment about phasing out bottom trawling in marine protected areas.'
The pledges made both at the conference and before will mean nothing, however, without the funds to back them up. And global marine protection efforts are already critically underfunded.
In 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed to designate 30 per cent of the world's oceans as protected areas by 2030.
As of 2024, just 8.4 per cent were covered, and only 2.7 per cent have been assessed to be effectively protected - meaning there are regulations and active management in place to ensure minimal or no damaging activities. That latter figure has dropped earlier this year as a result of the Trump Administration's rollback of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
Just two countries - Palau and the United Kingdom - have effectively protected more than 30 per cent of their waters, although effectively protected areas in UK waters are overwhelmingly located in remote, overseas territories.
Around $15.8 billion (€13.8 billion) a year is needed to achieve the 30 per cent by 2030 target, but a new report by a global coalition of nature NGOs and funders has found that just $1.2 billion (€1.05 billion) is currently being spent.
That is a massive funding gap of $14.6 billion (€12.7 billion) - a figure the environmental groups point out is just 0.5 per cent of annual global defence budgets.
Brian O'Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, which led on the finance gap analysis, says protecting the ocean is 'no longer just an ecological imperative - it's an economic one.'
'For just $15.8 billion (€13.8 billion) a year, we can protect one of our planet's most valuable assets while avoiding costs and unlocking long-term returns in the tens of billions.'
The report's authors say it sends a clear message ahead of UNOC: governments can't afford to underinvest in ocean protection. And the conference is a critical opportunity to build momentum, ratify key international agreements and recognise the value of the ocean.