France Hosted Ocean Conference Underway in Nice

June 10, 2025

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) opened Monday in Nice, France, bringing together world leaders, scientists, and environmental advocates to address urgent challenges facing the world's oceans, from pollution to overfishing and climate change.

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Key priorities for the conference include advancing the “30×30” target, a global commitment to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030. Currently, only 8.4 per cent of marine areas are under some form of protection.

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) opened Monday in Nice, France, bringing together world leaders, scientists, and environmental advocates to address urgent challenges facing the world’s oceans, from pollution to overfishing and climate change.

France and Costa Rica co-hosted the five-day conference, which aims to accelerate global efforts to protect marine ecosystems. These ecosystems sustain over three billion people and play a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate.

Another primary focus is securing enough ratifications for the High Seas Treaty, formally known as the BBNJ Agreement, which would enable the creation of marine protected areas in international waters. The treaty requires approval from at least 60 countries to take effect, but only 32 have ratified it so far.

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the urgency of reaching the ratification threshold by the September 2025 deadline, while also calling for stronger measures against illegal fishing and harmful fisheries subsidies. The conference features high-level discussions on sustainable financing mechanisms, including “blue bonds” and “blue loans,” to support ocean conservation efforts.

World leaders are facing mounting pressure to adopt tougher stances on overfishing, pollution, and marine protection, and turn decades of promises into real protection.

Oceans provide a buffer against the worst ravages of climate change and help sustain life. Without a healthy ocean, experts warn, climate goals will remain out of reach.

They generate 50 per cent of the oxygen we breathe, absorb around 30 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, and capture more than 90 per cent of the excess heat caused by those emissions.

Just 8 per cent of the waters are designated as marine protected areas (MPAs), but less than 3 per cent of the ocean is sufficiently protected to ban extractive and destructive activities.

Scientists warn that rising ocean temperatures, acidification, and sea level rise threaten marine biodiversity and coastal communities, underscoring the need for coordinated global action.