The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) concluded in Nice yesterday after five days filled with discussions among governments, experts, climate advocates, and community representatives.
Over 15,000 delegates attended the week-long summit, including more than 60 heads of state and government.
By the end of the summit, over 170 nations adopted a political declaration titled ‘Our ocean, our future: united for urgent action’ (also referred to as the ‘Nice Ocean Action Plan’), pledging to take urgent action towards conserving and sustainably utilizing the world’s oceans.
The declaration’s primary goals include expanding marine protected areas, reducing marine pollution, and increasing financial support for coastal and island nations.
More than 800 new voluntary commitments were made by countries leading up to and during the summit, which was co-hosted by France and Costa Rica.
Notable highlights included the European Union’s new Ocean Pact—a €1 billion commitment from the European Commission to safeguard marine life and enhance the blue economy—and French Polynesia’s pledge to establish the world’s largest marine protected area, covering approximately five million square kilometers.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressed the conference.
The ‘High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean,’ a coalition of 37 countries co-led by Canada and Panama—and including Ireland—was also launched at UNOC3 to advocate for reducing underwater noise pollution.
Germany introduced a €100 million action plan aimed at clearing World War II-era munitions in the Baltic Sea and North Sea. Meanwhile, Indonesia and the World Bank unveiled a ‘Coral Bond,’ a new financial tool designed to attract private capital for the conservation of coral reef ecosystems within Indonesia’s marine protected zones.
A key objective of UNOC3 was to encourage more nations to sign and ratify the so-called High Seas Treaty, which aims to create marine protection zones in international waters, curb overfishing, and safeguard marine ecosystems.
Nineteen countries ratified the treaty at UNOC3, raising the total number of ratifications to 50.
Sixty ratifications are necessary for the treaty to come into force at the UN level.
A member of ‘Ocean Rebellion,’ dressed in a costume resembling France’s President Emmanuel Macron with banded eyes, stood on the beach along the ‘Promenade des Anglais’ during the conference.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin informed RTÉ News at UNOC3 last Monday that Ireland would ratify the treaty.
Olivier Poivre D’Arvor, the French special envoy at UNOC3, remarked, “what was decided in Nice cannot be undone. No illegal path is acceptable.”
Ninety-five countries also endorsed a French initiative at the summit to restrict plastic production and consumption, in advance of the next round of talks in Geneva this August to finalize the terms of a global plastics treaty.
According to the UN, up to 12 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans and seas each year, which equates to the load of a bin truck every minute.
However, the summit was not without its challenges.
The United States did not send a high-level delegation to the conference.
This decision was hardly surprising in light of US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to expedite the permitting process for deep-sea mining licenses in US and international waters, a relatively new approach that involves dredging the seafloor to extract metals and minerals.
In contrast, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, while addressing UNOC3 delegates on Monday, stated, “the deep sea cannot become the Wild West.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining during his opening remarks at the summit.
This week highlighted the disconnect between the current US administration and most of the world’s governments regarding ocean protection.
